With Her Heart in His Hand
by QueenOfDuskAndDawn
Summary: Jay was used to exactly three things. Mal, his father's never-ending complaints, and girls falling for him. He was not used to Quinn, though after their first meeting he can't help but want to get used to her. Unfortunately, Auradon's king-to-be unwittingly interfered and things got... complicated. Only Evie knew about his feelings. But she had problems of her own. (I own nothing)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi guys! I'm back at it with a new story! I have no idea how long this will be, when I will be posting or if you'll like it. Bear with me, please. Happy reading!**

* * *

It was difficult to pinpoint when their story started. Perhaps it started the day that Beast and Belle decided to unite all the kingdoms and started Auradon. Or maybe it started when they banished all villains to the Isle of the Lost. Whatever the catalyst, the story does not get interesting until a glum day in an alley on the Isle of the Lost, when Jay, son of Jafar, quite literally ran right into Quinn, daughter of Queen of Hearts.

* * *

Jay hurried down the streets, running from the angry vendor from whom he had stolen a bunch of cheap bracelets. He threw a glance over his shoulder to see if he had gotten rid of the man, only to crash into something. When the object he'd toppled over groaned in pain, he realized that it wasn't a something, it was a someone. A female someone. Jay smirked down at her, making no move to get up as he turned on his charm. "You'll have to excuse me," he apologized, not genuine in the least, "I didn't see you there." The girl was unimpressed, shoving him off of her. He fell to the side, grunting as his back hit the ground.

"Clearly," she spat, standing to dust herself off, "Obviously manners aren't something you possess." She threw dark hair over her shoulder, the light from a streetlamp revealing that it was not black, but rather a deep, dark red.

Jay scoffed, meeting her blue eyes as he stood. "You were walking in my way." The girl glared at him, a phenomenon he wasn't used to, crossing her arms.

"Or perhaps _you_ should have watched where the hell you were going," she bit back, not standing down, "Why were you running anyway?" She couldn't help the curiosity. He was the first person she'd ever really interacted with outside her home or her shop. Her mother would have her head if she found out. A grin spread on the stranger's face at her question and he reached into his pocket to fish out a bunch of multicolored bracelets. She eyed them critically. They couldn't be worth much, but then again, on the Isle most possessions weren't. At least not by Auradonian standards. "And you thought these were worth running for?"

Jay frowned. "I stole them," he told her, watching her closely, "to give to my father so he can sell them in his shop." Her demeanor changed as he mentioned the work he did for his father. She bit her lip, glancing around nervously. He realized with a start that he had no idea who the girl was. "Who are you?" It was unusual for him to meet a girl his age that he hadn't seen before. But his question had her taking a step back. "Okay, wait," he said, holding up a hand as he stuffed the bracelets back into his pocket, "I'll go first." She looked unsure and he was far too curious to let her leave without telling him something about herself. "I'm Jay, son of Jafar." Her face lit up with recognition, likely because of his father's shop, _Jafar's Junk Shop_.

"It was perfectly terrible to have you run into me," she returned, making him smirk, "but I have to go." She turned around a corner before he could stop her.

* * *

Jay tried to follow her, but when he turned the same corner she was gone. Shaking his head, he continued down the path he'd been on, heading to meet an acquaintance, Mal. They'd decided to walk to school together, as their parents were allies and thought it was important that they displayed the alliance by being seen in public settings together. "Hey did you hear," he asks as he spots her outside his father's shop, "that a princess is coming to Dragon Hall?" He knew it irked Mal to no end when he knew things before her. Her mother was considered the most frightening villain on the Isle. At least, if they knew Maleficent could hear. If the conversation was actually private for once, most would probably say that the Queen of Hearts was worse, what with her being rather unstable.

"Since when did we have princesses on the Isle?" Mal didn't have to wait for the answer. The walk from Jafar's Junk Shop to Dragon Hall wasn't long. And outside the school stood Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen. Mal growled at the sight and Jay choked on his laughter. Maleficent had banished Evie and her mother after they'd neglected to invite Mal to Evie's sixth birthday party. To be clear, they'd been banished for eternity, not ten years. Yet, there she was, ten years later, about to start school. But just before Mal surged forward to send Evie back to where she came from, a plan formed in her head. A brilliant, vengeful plan.

Tuning in to Mal's mutterings, Jay reminded himself with a sigh that it wouldn't be very beneficial for his alliance with the purple-haired girl if he surrendered to the desire to walk away from her. So instead he followed with the crowd as they all went inside the school, suitably late to class. He realized quickly that there was absolutely nothing about that day that fit into routine. Evie made a friend, Mal planned a party, Carlos, the son of Cruella De Vil, was forced to throw a party and Jay obsessed about the girl he'd run into. Little did he know that he would get a chance to speak to her again at the party.

* * *

Whatever Mal's plan was for the night, any thought of it flew out of Jay's head as Evie arrived. Because a familiar girl with red, almost black, hair stood beside her. It was clear that they knew each other, a fact that only served to further Jay's curiosity. It was no wonder he hadn't seen her before if she knew Evie. Few dared to defy Maleficent and Evie had been banished for the last ten years. Whoever the girl was she must have known Evie before or met her during the banishment, which all but ensured that the girl's parent was an adversary of Maleficent. No one else would have dared to associate with Evie and the Evil Queen. He didn't know when Evie lost her friend in the crowd, but he was glad she did as it gave him a chance to get her alone. Jay tugged her into an empty corridor, caging her against the wall with his arms. "I believe you owe me a name" he whispered, leaning close in an attempt to intimidate her. He was affronted when she chuckled at him with an infuriating smirk on her face.

"And I believe I told you that you didn't have manners," she bantered, raising an eyebrow, "Anything else from this morning you want to rehash or can I go back to the party?" She could tell that he was frustrated and to be honest, she could see why. He was handsome, clever. He must have had plenty of people fall over themselves to get his attention. Only, her mother taught her to specifically avoid his kind of person. The flirty, most definitely not trustworthy kind. He was handsome and clever, indeed, but too much so. Too aware of his own advantages and all too willing to use them to get what he wanted. She refused to fall for it. When he didn't say anything to answer her question, she smiled indulgently and patted his shoulder before ducking under his arm and leaving him in the hallway.

Jay was infuriated and impatient. He had a way with girls, that was just a fact. So the fact that the red-haired girl seemed unaffected by his advances did not sit well with him at all. Growling, he stalked after her, unable to just let her walk away without giving him her name. There was a lot of power in a name, everyone on the Isle knew that. It allowed you to learn more about someone, blackmail them or curse them. A name could induce fear or laughter. He had yet to decide what he wanted to do with hers. All he knew was that he would have her name by the end of the night. He caught up to her quickly enough, blocking her path when the ground started shaking violently, knocking them both off their feet. Jay's shoulder hit the wall and the girl stumbled into him. It was over almost as soon as it began. Despite the strange circumstances, Jay smirked at the girl in his arms. "I think this just brought us to first-name basis," he commented lightly, "Don't you think?"

"That wouldn't be a very good challenge, now would it?" She pushed away from him, smoothing nonexistent wrinkles in her clothes, and smirked before leaving. She could hear Jay mutter to himself as she headed out into the cold night of the Isle, knowing her mother would be looking for her if she didn't return home soon.

* * *

Jay sighed, done with the party and whatever Mal had planned, and he too left. Outside, he ran into a blue-haired girl, Evie he remembered. He glared at her. "Watch it!" Evie shrank back at his glare, nodding quickly.

"I… I'm sorry," she whispered, wringing her hands nervously, "It's just… I have to find my friend, Quinn, before her mother realizes that she snuck out." Evie looked down at the ground, the boy she'd run into was intimidating for someone who hadn't interacted a lot with others, hoping he would help. "I… she's got red hair and wore a black and gold dress to the party," she described quietly, glancing up at him, "Have you seen her?"

Jay felt victorious. Because he had seen her and now he knew her name. "Yeah, she just left," he told her, watching as her eyes widened, "But I'll walk you home, help you look for her." Evie visibly deflated with relief, making it all the more clear that she wasn't used to the ways of the Isle, and nodded gratefully. And Jay had no intention of letting her down. She was doing him a favor, leading him to Quinn, without even knowing it. "So, where do you think she's gone?"

"Maybe her shop," Evie replied shyly, twisting a strand of hair around her fingers, "She owns _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_ down nearby the Goblin Wharf." Evie had always been impressed with her friend's shop and how she managed to run it even when her mother didn't let her out. As far as Evie knew, Quinn had allies and even friends who helped her out when she couldn't be in there herself. _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_ was the center of medicine on the Isle, where the villains and their kids would trade favors or artifacts in exchange for medical attention. It made Quinn one of the most well-off people on the Isle. It was likely that Quinn had either gone to her shop or to the Lost Revenge to visit Captain Hook and his children, as they were some of the very few that her mother approved of her seeing. Evie's own mother would sooner lose to Snow White again than see her daughter spend time with pirates. She never mentioned the second option to Jay. The rivalry between Mal, Jay's frenemy, and Uma, Harry Hook's ally, was notorious on the Isle and Evie doubted that it would be a good idea to bring him to the Lost Revenge to look for Quinn there.

* * *

Jay followed Evie as she led him through the marketplace and toward the Goblin Wharf. When she finally stopped outside a fairly well-kept shop, considering that it was located on the Isle, they were far too close to the Wharf for his comfort. While he generally got along well with most people before he stole from them, it would irk both Mal and Uma, the daughter of Ursula, if they ever found out that he'd been there. Mal would think he was betraying her for Uma and Uma would think he was doing something for Mal and he did _not_ want to get involved in all that drama. Evie opened the unlocked door and stepped inside, surprising him. Even on the Isle, where most people could get into places they shouldn't if they only wanted it enough, the doors were locked.

"No one knows how to use the stuff she trades," Evie explained when she saw the frown on Jay's face, "so they leave it alone." To be fair, no one really knew how Quinn got a hold of the medicine she used either. Evie knew that some of the things her best friend used to make medicine came from the redhead's own garden. But how she turned them into cures or poisons, how she harnessed magic from the broken and left-over things that they got from Auradon, was a mystery. "Quinn," Evie called, walking deeper into the dark shop, "are you in here?" On the counter, next to the wholly unnecessary cash-register, she found a little slip of paper. Quinn had expected her arrival and left a note stating that she was sorry for leaving early but that she was home safe. "She's okay," Evie stated, more for her own benefit than Jay's, "she's not sure when she'll be able to be back in the shop again, but she's home safe for now."

Jay had planned to return to the shop the next day and every day until he could inform Quinn about his knowledge of her name, but his plan, much like his father's attempt to take over Agrabah, was foiled by a street-rat. Mal cornered him in Dragon Hall and told him how her mother's raven, Diablo, had returned and that the Dragon's Eye, Maleficent's well-known scepter, was active again. Unable to resist the adventure, Jay was pulled into a quest along with Mal and, to his surprise, Evie and Carlos. They retrieved the scepter from the Isle of the Doomed and suddenly the quartet became almost-friends. Jay, ever the opportunist, used his newly formed alliance with Evie to get closer to Quinn. It helped that, after the quest, he'd had trouble sleeping. He walked into _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_ and tapped on the bell on the counter.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter! Happy reading!**

* * *

Quinn rolled her eyes when she walked out of her back room to find Jay at the counter. "Oh, it's you," she muttered, keeping her voice carefully irritated, "What do you want now?" It wouldn't do for him to find out that she enjoyed bantering with him. He'd just get an even bigger head and never leave her alone.

"I'm here for something to help me sleep," he announced, grinning, "_Quinn_." She paused for a split second as she walked around the counter to head towards some shelves near the door. Then she kept moving. He'd given a lot of thought to her since meeting her. He knew, suspicions having been confirmed by Evie who apparently had no idea that he knew her best friend, that Quinn was the daughter of the Queen of Hearts. Everyone knew that the Queen of Hearts had been unhinged before coming to the Isle but at some point since then she'd lost it completely. He wondered how it affected Quinn because he suffered under his father's care and his father was nowhere near as insane as the Queen of Hearts. The red-haired girl shoved a vial of clear liquid into his palm. "What do I owe you?" Evie had explained, he'd asked when they were alone, how Quinn handled her business.

The princess in question turned him around pushed him towards the exit. "Leave me alone." It was dangerous business to go about liking someone. Her mother had long rants at least once a week about how love wasn't real and men were pigs that shouldn't be trusted. It was bad enough that the effort Jay put into his attempts to get to know her was warming her up to him. She did not need to encourage him, whether she did it unconsciously or not.

"You know," Jay stated casually as she shoved him outside, "I don't think I can do that." He leaned against the doorframe, meeting her eyes. "You're interesting," he told her bluntly, "like a puzzle I can't really figure out but won't give up on anyway." Quinn rolled her eyes and slammed the door shut, narrowly missing his fingers. Undeterred, he opened it and went inside again. "No, seriously," he continued as though she hadn't tried to cut off the conversation, "I don't think I can leave you alone until you tell me what I need to know to figure you out."

Quinn had enough. "You know what, fine," she muttered, facing him with a scowl, "My mother has always made it perfectly clear that if I was to go and catch feelings for someone, I'm to be locked into my tower." She crossed her arms, eyes flashing dangerously. "And 'round here we don't have any knights to save us." At some point as she spoke she started pacing but she was far too agitated to stop. Jay watched her with a raised eyebrow. "I have exactly two men I'm allowed to see without repercussions and you're neither of them, so please leave."

"Let me see if I got this straight," Jay interrupted before she could shove him out again, "Your unhinged mom won't let you see any guys except two and you don't actually want me to leave because of me but because of her?" Quinn looked so adorably put out by the simple conclusion to her rant that he had to chuckle. Which was the wrong thing to do, he realized as she gave him an unimpressed look and started to turn away. "She doesn't have to know," he said, making her stop, "because I really don't think I can stay away." He must have let something into his voice that he didn't mean to because she gasped softly and turned back to him with unsure eyes.

Quinn wasn't sure what that soft note in his words had been, but it was enough to make her question the decision to forget about him. For the love of hell, they didn't even know each other. She was being foolish, she should have gone into the back room and stayed there until he left. There was absolutely no reason for her to believe him, no reason for him to mean what he said. But she wanted to. She wanted to believe him and she wanted for him to have meant it. Her mother would have her head if she found out. Maybe it was better to have lived a little for a short time rather than never stepping a toe out of line for a lifetime. "Fine," she relented hesitantly, "Evie knows when I'm here, talk to her." He nodded, a wide a grin on his face. Quinn couldn't stop herself from smiling back. Realizing that they could only spend so much time together before someone spotted them, Jay thanked her for the sleeping potion and left. Her heart was beating faster than normal, but Quinn pointedly ignored it. Nothing would come of the association with Jay. It couldn't, not if she wanted to avoid turning into her mother when he eventually moved on.

* * *

Over the next few weeks, Jay went with Evie whenever she visited Quinn's shop, distracting the red-haired princess with conversation and flirty quips while Evie learned to manage the shop. But then they walked in and found that Quinn wasn't alone. Jay froze as he saw Harry Hook walking among the shelves, a crate of vials in his arms. The pirate was placing the little bottles and jars out on display, each one labeled neatly. Looking at Evie, Jay was surprised to see her blushing furiously. She didn't seem to be able to even glance in Harry's direction. Quinn stood behind the counter, sorting through a pile of knick-knacks, though she looked up when the bell above the door chimed. Glancing suspiciously at Harry, Jay made his way over to her while Evie remained rooted at the entrance. "I have some questions" he murmured, jumping up to sit beside the cash-register.

"Harry is one of two guys I'm allowed to see," she stated absently, holding up a leather bracelet for him to inspect, "He helps out here while he pretends that he's babysitting me." She gestured to Evie, who still hadn't moved an inch from the door with one hand, using the other to dump a bunch of tangled necklaces into his lap. "Evie's got a crush on Harry," she continued bluntly, earning a squeak and a deepening blush from the blue-haired girl in question while Harry smirked, "but won't do anything about it because her mother would lose it if she slummed it with a pirate." The alliances between villains were complicated and dictated most villain kids' lives. Evie could associate with Quinn because their mothers were allies but Jay wasn't allowed near Quinn because his father and her mother were rivals, despite Jafar and the Evil Queen being allies. Harry's father and Quinn's mother were allies but even though Evie's mother was allied with Quinn's, Evie wasn't supposed to be seen with Harry. The fact that the four of them were in the same shop at the same time would give their parents heart attacks.

Jay detangled the necklaces for Quinn, telling her which ones could be traded for more valuable things and which ones she might as well throw away, all while Evie slowly made her way to them, blush flaring up whenever Harry walked past. It had become routine for Jay and Quinn to sort through the things she traded. She kept the most valuable things, to trade for other stuff at the marketplace, while he kept the things with lesser value to bring to his father's shop. Throughout the afternoon though, both of them watched as Evie tried to maneuver herself around Harry without blushing. It was amusing to see Harry make an effort to brush against her when he had to move past her to get to a shelf as he deposited vials in their rightful place. Jay was fascinated by the differences between Evie and Quinn. Evie flushed pink just being in the same room as Harry, while Quinn let Jay flirt with her shamelessly without so much as a reaction. It was interesting that Evie, whose mother was downright reasonable compared to Quinn's, had more difficulty defying orders than her best friend, considering that it was likely that the Queen of Hearts punished her daughter more severely than the Evil Queen.

* * *

Evie left the shop an hour after their arrival, face so red that Jay worried that she was choking on something. He voiced his concern to Quinn who waved him off, stating that if Evie was choking on something it was the urge to kiss Harry until neither could stand. Harry had rolled his eyes, announcing that he was going to get something to eat from _Ursula's Fish & Chips _and would be back later, leaving them alone. He'd been gone for ten minutes and Jay was starting to understand Evie. It was difficult to be so close to Quinn and resist the urge to press his lips against hers. When she bit her lower lip while squinting at a glass sphere with a flower inside, he had enough and slid down from the counter. She didn't get a chance to ask what he was doing before he slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her to him, his lips meeting hers. She didn't even pause, kissing him back. It was almost anticlimactic the way weeks of flirting led to a kiss before they let go of each other, sharing a smile as they went back to sorting. When Harry came back he just smirked as he told them that he'd been ordered by the Queen of Hearts to bring Quinn back to their castle. Jay had formed an easy companionship with the pirate over the time he'd spent in _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_, going so far as pretending they didn't see each other when they met outside the shop rather than launching into a fight. Harry stopped Jay before he left, smirk widening as he told him to wipe away the lipstick stains.

* * *

Even if the kiss in the shop was the beginning of some sort of romance between them, Quinn's relationship with Jay didn't really start until she was locked into her room. Being locked into her room usually meant that her bedroom was locked and remained so until her mother decided to let her out again. She had a balcony, but Quinn wasn't reckless enough to try to climb down using the vines growing along the side of the castle. Jay was though, she found out. She'd been brushing through her hair when a knock on her balcony door made her jump. Quinn turned around and her jaw dropped when she saw Jay waving through the glass, the usual smirk on his face. "What," she asked, letting him in, "are you doing here?"

"Harry said your mom was in a bad mood today," he explained simply, looking around the room, "and figured that you wouldn't be able to make it to the shop." He picked up a pair of garish, emerald earrings, raising an eyebrow at her. At her nod, he put them in his pocket. "So I thought I'd come by-" he gestured his hands over himself- "as you can see." Quinn was still looking at him disbelievingly, so he pressed a quick kiss to her lips before pushing her down onto the stool by her vanity again. He picked up her brush and continued to run it through her hair, twisting it into a braid when he was done. She smiled at him through their reflection, meeting his eyes.

Quinn's warm gaze turned suspicious when he smirked back at her. When Jay suddenly bent down to press little kisses against the exposed column of her throat, she rolled her eyes. She should have known he'd have an ulterior motive with getting her hair out of the way. Since their kiss in the shop, Jay had been happy to supply more whenever she demanded them. Only if Harry wasn't around though. The pirate was like a brother to her and after he caught them making out in the back room he made it clear that as long as he was around they had to keep their hands off of each other. "Jay…" she started, unsure if she should stop him or let him continue. He hummed against her throat, sending shivers down her spine, and she decided to allow him to keep at it. Jay ran his fingers down her arms, settling them on her elbows as he gently prompted her to stand. Once she was up he turned her around to face him and she couldn't help but smile into his kiss. It was sweet and comfortable, his touch easing the tension in her shoulders. She could have stayed like that forever. But as the thought registered, she felt panic seize her. Quinn froze, making Jay pull away from her. Because love wasn't real. His reputation spoke for itself when it came to his ability to form relationships.

Jay frowned at her, confused by her sudden change of mood. She stepped out of his embrace, wrapping her arms around herself as she turned away from him. "Quinn?" He tried to put his hand on her arm but she shook him off, breath hitching. Jay felt angry and confused. As far as he'd been aware, their… involvement had progressed well. "Come on, what's wrong?"

"Maybe you should leave" she replied weakly, the fight she usually had in her voice lost. It didn't feel right to send him and the selfish part of her wanted nothing more than to feel him against her again. But the fear and the nagging sense of self-preservation was stronger. He murmured her name, attempting to wrap his arms around her. Quinn shrugged him off, tears rising as she listened to him sigh. Each step he took away from her sent a stab through her, but she'd rather he left because she told him to than because he got sick of her. The balcony door squeaked when he opened it and Quinn felt a tear slip down her cheek.


	3. Chapter 3

**A lot of this story was already written when I started posting, and I'm working to finish it now. In the meantime, happy reading!**

* * *

Hand still on the handle, Jay paused. "No." He turned back to Quinn, repeating the word. The princess faced him, brow furrowed. The tear-tracks on her face hurt him and furthered his confusion. "I'm not leaving until you tell me why." She closed her eyes, more tears slipping free. He walked up to her again, lifting a hand to wipe the wet trails away. "Talk to me, Quinn."

"You have a reputation, Jay," she whispered, thrown off by his gentleness, "You're not exactly the monogamous type, are you?" She had tried not to listen to the whispers in the streets. She tried to pretend that she didn't hear the giggles when girls came into her shop talking about seeing him with some tart or another. But it was difficult, because she was far too into him not to notice, far too invested in their thing to not let it get to her. Heart-women did not handle romance well, she knew that. Yet this thief had wormed his way into her life and stolen what little heart she had, just as he had so many others'.

While the question, and particularly the rhetorical way she asked it, hurt, Jay was aware that it was a fair point. His reputation painted him as a Casanova, someone who broke girls' hearts left and right without care. And well, he couldn't deny that truth. "Maybe," he murmured, "you should consider that I never found someone worth the effort." She flinched and he winced slightly because his choice of words could have been better. Letting one hand clutch her hip, he wrapped the other around her waist and held her close. "You're worth the effort," he told her quietly, meeting her stunned gaze when she looked up at him, "You're adventure and new experiences just as much as a quiet source of peace and calm." He rested his forehead against hers, unable to put words to the feeling surging inside him. The most important thing at that moment was to make sure that she knew he wasn't going anywhere. "You're worth the effort," he repeated, finally bringing a smile to her face, "Only you."

Quinn let a watery grin slip past her defenses at his words. "We barely know each other," she stated, feeling him nod, "This doesn't happen here, this is one of those things that only happen to heroes." Jay actually laughed at that and pressed a kiss to her lips, soft and sweet. She returned it for a moment, breathing a little easier. "What if my mother finds out?" If her mother knew that she not only succumbed to someone's charms but she succumbed to the charms of Jafar's son, the Queen would have her head. Literally, one of Quinn's weekly tasks was to ensure that the guillotine remained sharp so that her mother could chop off the heads of the card soldiers when she felt like it. If the Queen of Hearts found out about the romantic aspect of her daughter's life, she would end her daughter's life without hesitation.

"I'll get you out of here," Jay promised, squeezing her tighter against him, "Before she can find out, I'll find a way to help you escape." He actually felt quite a lot like a hero when the smile on Quinn's face widened and she beamed at him. She pushed up on her tip-toes and kissed him lightly before tugging him over to her bed. His eyes widened. "Quinn, I don't know if…"

She cut him off with a laugh. "I just wanted you to sing that song to me," she said, pulling him down to lie beside her, "That one you were humming in the shop the other day, about the moon." Quinn had been entranced by the melody when she'd first heard it and Jay had explained that it was an old lullaby from Agrabah, one that his father had sung to him until he was old enough to raise himself. It was, he'd told her, one of the few good things he could remember about his childhood. "It's getting dark," she added, shifting to rest her head on his chest, "And I was hoping you'd sing the lullaby before you left." Jay chuckled lightly, wrapping an arm around her as he complied with her request. _When the shadows unfold, when the sun hides its gold, when the wind and the cold come calling…_

Jay carefully slipped out of the room once the lullaby ended. Quinn was asleep, breathing even and calm, so he just kissed her on the forehead before he left, climbing down the vines and disappearing into the darkness. As he laid down in his own cot above _Jafar's Junk Shop_ he promised himself to see her the next day, whether she was at the shop or not.

* * *

Only, when the day broke, he never had the chance to keep that promise. After starting the day with running around the Isle, wreaking havoc with Mal, Evie, and Carlos, the fun was abruptly cut short when Maleficent approached them, announcing gleefully that they were being sent to Auradon. He never had a chance to protest or escape as Maleficent's minions all but forced them to return to Bargain Castle to plan how to bring down the barrier. Jay hoped to be able to sneak away to say goodbye to Quinn before he left but his father kept him under constant supervision and he couldn't find an opening. Apparently, their parents had already packed their bags for them, waiting until the last moment to tell them, as they were shoved into a fancy car and taken away from their home.

* * *

Quinn waited for Jay the whole day. He'd made it a point since their first kiss to stop by at least once a day when she was in her shop, but so far he had yet to show up. When the sky darkened, she could feel her heart squeeze painfully. The bell above the door rang and her head snapped up so quickly she feared she'd tear a muscle. She deflated when she saw Harry in the doorway, coming to pick her up and take her home. "Where is he, Harry?" The look on her pseudo-brother's face alarmed her.

"In Auradon, Quinn," he replied darkly, "both of 'em." He rushed forward when he caught sight of the glistening moisture in her eyes, a disbelieving sigh falling over her lips as she tried to get him to take back his statement. When he wouldn't, she sunk into his arms, sobbing. Seeing the heartbreak, hearing the gut wrenching whispers of broken promises, Harry vowed to make Jay suffer. He vowed to never stop until the thief suffered as much as Quinn did. Knowing that it would raise questions with the Queen of Hearts if he led her daughter through the castle in tears, he took her through the tunnel from her shop and guided her through a hidden entrance near her tower. He stayed with her that night, fuming. Jay would not get away with breaking Quinn's heart, Harry would make sure of it.

* * *

Jay couldn't really get used to Auradon, what with its peppy pinkness and happy goodness. It felt wrong. He was grateful for Mal's spearheading of the quest to get Fairy Godmother's wand. The sooner they got it over with, the sooner he could return to Quinn. Sure, the food wasn't moldy and there was a lot of sunshine, so it wasn't all bad. But no matter how nice some of the things were, the Isle was home. Quinn was home. Jay met up with Evie the night after their arrival, leaning against the banister of a little outdoor building called a gazebo, sighing heavily. "I miss them," he stated finally, after several minutes of heavy silence, "I miss helping out in her shop while you try not to react to him."

"I miss them too," Evie replied quietly, "It's weird that we're not heading back home from visiting her right now." She turned to him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He, in turn, took her hand in his, words unnecessary. They were going to steal Fairy Godmother's wand and bring down the barrier so that they could finally be free to run away with the people they cared about. They had to.

Except that it didn't turn out that way. Because Jay found an activity he liked. Evie had a dalliance with a prince that led her to express her intelligence. Carlos got a dog. Mal fell for _the _prince to end all princes, the soon-to-be king of Auradon. The more time they spent in the home of the heroes, the less Jay missed the Isle. He still wanted nothing more than to have Quinn back in his arms, and he knew Evie struggled with her feelings for Harry while simultaneously nursing a crush for Dopey's son. Family Day set his head back on straight though, as the Auradonians showed their true feelings about the villain kids. The accusations they faced had Jay reeling, fury coursing through him as he was more determined than ever to get back home. But even then, it didn't surprise him when the plan to steal the wand during Ben's coronation went wrong. Which is odd, because the wand was stolen and the barrier brought down. Just not by the villain kids. Jane, Fairy Godmother's daughter in a twist of irony no one saw coming, stole it directly from her mother's hand, accusing her mother of not caring enough for her. And when Maleficent showed up and froze everyone, Jay knew with a sinking heart that they couldn't bring down the barrier. Not when Mal had feelings for Ben and Evie could finally show her intelligence and be praised rather than punished.

* * *

Evie joined him in his dorm after the celebration of the coronation and Maleficent's second defeat. "Do you think we'll ever see them again?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly, "I mean, I hope we will." But they both knew that it could take months or even years before that happened. Because Auradon was their new home, where they were free from their parents' control and able to be who they really wanted to be. Auradon was where Jay realized that the feeling he hadn't been able to put a name on that night in Quinn's room was love. "Somehow, someday," he continued, wrapping an arm around Evie's shoulders, "we will see them again."

Life in Auradon was much easier than life on the Isle. They didn't have to fight for their lives every day, they could have actual friends without being called weak. Then they got the messages. The ones that all out demanded that they went back to the Isle before the new moon rose. A part of Jay hoped that it was Quinn sending him the message, a hope that was squashed when he found out that Mal and Carlos had gotten them too. Quinn had no connection to them, just him and Evie. Carlos traced the messages back to the Dark Net, an Isle website run by a group calling themselves the Anti-Hero Club. It shocked all of them more than it should have to find out that they'd been declared traitors on the Isle.

Unable to ignore the messages, they traveled back to the Isle. And the hostility was instantly upon them. People glared at them in the streets, threw moldy food at them and shoved them if they accidentally got to close. Jay shared a look with Evie as Carlos was pushed to the ground. Quinn would never condone the way they were treated. Her card soldiers always put a stop to all acts of over-aggressive violence. But the farther they walked, the more clear it became that Quinn wasn't defending them.

Evie snuck away from the group while Jay took the others to Bargain Castle, slipping along the narrow streets of the Isle to get to _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_. Only to find that no matter what path she took, it was somehow blocked. The most common street had been overtaken by pirates and new merchants. The least common alleys were replaced with little bazaars. There was no way to reach the shop. And Evie had a feeling she knew why, seeing a connection between the sudden roadblocks. The bazaars were run by pirates. The street just outside the shop was littered with pirates. Evie had no doubt about it. Harry was keeping them away from Quinn. She returned to her friends, claiming that she'd been trying to get something for them to eat. Jay would understand what she really meant. Worry filled his features before he masked the feeling carefully and Evie nodded at him. That was a discussion they could have at a later date.

* * *

They ran into Mad Maddy, an ally of Quinn's, and Jay desperately wanted to ask her how the red-haired princess was doing, but she immediately led them to Evie's mother's basement. In the basement, they were shocked to find a group of villain kids with Yen Sid, the Auradonian teacher at Dragon Hall. After a long explanation about the true purpose of the Anti-Heroes Club, and how the members were trying to be good, Jay finally had enough. "What the hell is it with all the pirates," he burst out, "they have kept to the Goblin Wharf for years, why are they taking over the Isle?"

Diego De Vil, Carlos' cousin, shook his head sadly. "Uma took over the Isle after you guys left," he explained, brow furrowed, "with Maleficent gone, a lot of people thought of Mal as the leader, you know, because they thought she was pretending." Sharing a look with the others in the room, he sighed. "When it became kinda obvious that she wasn't faking it, they thought Quinn would take over, with her card soldiers or whatever," he continued, shrugging, "But no one's heard from Quinn, she didn't even put up a fight."

* * *

**I included Desert Moon simply because I'm sad it didn't make it into the live-action Aladdin rather than being an extra thing.**


	4. Chapter 4

Jay struggled to keep a mask of surprise rather than showing the worry he felt. It didn't fool Evie, who squeezed his hand briefly to silently tell him that she was worried too. Quinn didn't really have enemies, the people on the Isle needed her far too much to make an adversary of her. But if her mother had hurt her or even… Jay stopped himself from thinking it. Harry would never let anything happen to her. Nothing on the Isle made sense. Their parents were missing, but Iago and the overnight-bags were left behind. Harry, through manipulating Uma, had taken control of the Isle to keep them from getting to Quinn.

Yen Sid spoke, calling Jay's attention back to the present. "I used Freddie Facilier to send you those messages," he explained, surprising them, "Your parents are missing and it has something to do with the odd weather in Auradon." They knew what he was talking about. Just before they'd returned to the Isle, Ben had been looking into the strange phenomena occurring all over Auradon. "Because of the magic kept off the island by the barrier being pushed underground, Maleficent's escape sparked a chain reaction," he continued using his teacher voice, "Evil itself had begun creating new talismans for the villains and crafted a path to Auradon and your parents heard the call of their former powers and went to search of them."

Mal watched the reactions of the Anti-Heroes, finding Mad Maddy's to be off. The girl had no poker-face whatsoever, her eyes turning steely whenever they landed on Jay, Evie or Carlos. So when the meeting ended, Mal followed her.

* * *

Knowing the kinds of trouble her friend could get herself into, Evie shadowed Mal as she followed Maddy. They were headed towards a remote part of the Isle, to Doom Cove some minutes away from the Goblin Wharf. She watched with wide eyes as Mal was attacked by Maddy and her associates, feeling Jay and Carlos come up behind her. And as they take in the people attacking Mal, Jay and Evie share a moment of understanding. While the attackers all very likely had other motives for assaulting Maleficent's daughter, there was no mistaking that all of them were allies of Quinn's. The realization hit both Evie and Jay like a punch. Quinn was letting it happen, all of it. Being the only person able to help the sick and injured granted her a lot more power than most villain kids possessed. One word from her would end the pirates' rule, stop the attack on Mal. But Quinn wasn't giving that word. She was _letting _it happen.

The three VKs rushed forward and barely managed to save Mal from becoming crocodile-chow. Carlos pointed it out first. Tick Tock Croc's kids weren't supposed to be at Doom Cove. They all looked at each other, reaching the same conclusion. The catacombs, the ones where their parents had been lost, had to be there. After some deliberation, they decided to go back to Bargain Castle and get some sleep before they tried to find the entrance.

Jay shifted, over and over, unable to close his eyes without hearing Diego's words. _No one's heard from Quinn_. For the first time since Family Day, he wished that he hadn't left the Isle. There were a number of things that could've led to her silence, including her mother's madness, and he wondered if he was too late. He hadn't stopped thinking about ways to get Quinn off of the Isle, away from her madhouse mother, and into his arms again. For all he knew, Queen of Hearts had snapped and beheaded her daughter. The thought made his stomach churn and he sat up in bed. He had to see if she was safe. Without waking the others, Jay snuck out of Bargain Castle and headed in the direction of the House of Cards. It was a fairly easy path to take if one knew where to go. He only had to make a few new turns due to new bazaars, finding his way to the House of Cards garden easily enough. Quinn was visible through the glass of her balcony door, the gilded barrier open just enough for him to hear her sing to herself. _Desert moon, light the way, till the dark turns to day…_ Jay's heart stuttered. She was singing the lullaby he'd taught her, the one he'd been singing to her the night before he was forced to leave for Auradon. It took all the restraint he possessed to stop himself from scaling the vines and joining her. He tore himself away from the scene, returning to Bargain Castle. Back in bed, he fell asleep to the image of Quinn singing, dreaming of the day when they'd be reunited.

* * *

The dig to get to the entrance of the cavern wasn't easy, Evie concluded silently, but it was nowhere near as difficult as the challenge of finding her mother's talisman. It was so beautiful, so powerful. She couldn't resist taking the bite. The image haunting her, her friends abandoning her, it stung even after she broke through the illusion. It was her one weakness, it always had been, the thought of being disliked and thrown away. But whatever the Fruit of Venom had shown her, she had a feeling it would only get worse.

The Haunted Desert brought back memories of his almost decent childhood. The lullaby, the descriptive images of what Agrabah looked like. And while he didn't want to leave his friends behind, Jay knew that he was meant to follow the Golden Cobra. It led him deeper into a tunnel until he reached a chamber. No, scratch that, he reached _the_ chamber. The chamber of his dreams, piled high with gold and jewels. It hurt his head to remind himself that it wasn't real, especially with the cobra whispering in his ear, promises of riches beyond his wildest imagination, the Golden Cobra as his power to wield. But then the snake told him to walk behind a curtain, leave behind his friends. It felt wrong and Jay felt himself start to resist. _Leave your friends behind and pass through that doorway with me, and you shall have all the riches you desire._ The image provided was a glorious one, with him as a Sultan of Agrabah. Around him piles of gold and silver glittered, almost as shimmery as the fabrics wrapped around the love of his life. Quinn's hair glimmered red in the sun, a brilliant smile on her face. _Come with me_, the cobra continued,_ and you will gain her love and forgiveness._ But with Yen Sid's words about how there was treasure in the world around him and Quinn's voice singing the lullaby ringing in his ears, he turned down the offer. He may not have been rich in gold and silver, but he had friendships worth far more than all the coin in the world. And Quinn's love and forgiveness was something that he had to earn through actions, not a spell.

It was a relief to escape the tunnels, and a surprise to find Madam Mim and Ben in the dwarf mines. Jay felt himself breathe easier as Madam Mim was revealed to be the one behind the attacks in Auradon. For a brief moment, he'd wondered if Quinn, the only one who practiced magic on the Isle no matter how weak and natural it was, had been the one responsible. Ben stabbed Madam Mim with Excalibur, making Jay wonder what the story was behind the king getting a hold of it at all, and Merlin returned things as they should be. Back in his dorm, the former thief lay back against his pillows, wondering if Quinn would ever allow him back in her life. Grudges and fear of love had turned her mother into a lunatic to end all lunatics, and he sincerely hoped that she was strong enough to withstand turning into her mother.

* * *

Quinn had been aware of the VKs presence on the Isle the entire time they'd been there. How could she not, Harry had been near impossible and downright unreasonable regarding letting her out of his sight. Of course, Quinn knew why. She'd been stupid enough to voice her hope that maybe Jay had come for her to the pirate, making him nearly choke on his fury. He made it clear that under no circumstances was he going to let her fall for Jay again, as though she at some point had fallen _out_ of love with him, firmly declaring that she was to stay at House of Cards until the VKs left. Unwilling to damage her relationship with her only real friend, Quinn had relented.

The red-haired girl looked up from her potion as the bell above the door in her shop rang. Wiping her hands gently on her apron, she stepped out of the back room to find Uma standing at the counter. "What can I do for you?" The alliance between the two girls was tense, at best. Quinn only agreed to meet Ursula's daughter because Harry vouched for her and Uma was unwilling to admit that Quinn was more than just a disgraced princess. They hadn't made much progress.

"There's a trident, _the_ trident," she stated, knowing that Quinn would know which one she meant, "Inside the barriers, in the waters." Uma growled as the blood-haired girl showed no interest in the topic, simply looking at her with a bored expression on her face. "I need to get to that trident before anyone else can lay their dirty little hands on it," she continued, pacing back and forth in front of the counter, "I can use it to get off this island."

Quinn wasn't sure what Uma was getting at. She was a princess, one who only knew how to swim because Harry insisted that she learned when they were kids. The waters of the Isle held no interest to her, nor did a useless trident. Whatever Uma had planned, Quinn had no idea why she was needed. "Did you have something important to say," she asked, "Because I need to stir my potion in four minutes."

"Captain Hook's holding a contest," Uma told her, though it was likely that the princess already knew, "The winner gets the Lost Revenge." Quinn looked unimpressed, gaze confirming what Uma had suspected. The red-haired girl was fully aware of the contest and its prize. "Per the agreement, I need you to convince Harry to be my first mate." She had to stop herself from smirking when Quinn suddenly put all her attention to the conversation.

There were few things that Quinn _wouldn't_ do and most of them involved Harry. She refused to do anything that could put him in even the slightest risk of danger. Granted, on the Isle, most things he did were risky. And she knew that he wanted to get off the Isle. If the trident could do that, he'd be free and happy. It was all she'd ever wanted for him. So she nodded to Uma, agreeing to talk to Harry for her.

* * *

Harry walked into House of Cards, absentmindedly heading down the labyrinth of hallways and stairs to Quinn's room. She'd asked him to stop by when he could. "Quinn," he greeted when he entered her tower, finding her seated at her vanity with a brush in hand, "what'd ye need me for?" Seeing her struggle with some tangles in her long tresses, Harry took the brush from her hand and took over, gently running the bristles through the red strands as he undid the knots he encountered.

"Uma needs a first mate," she stated, smiling softly when the pirate parted her hair in two sections and carefully French braided each side, "I think she knew that I'd have better luck convincing you than if she were to ask herself." Harry pulled two pieces of leather string from his pocket, securing the braids with petite bows, contemplating her words. Quinn leaned back against him, feeling at more at ease in her pseudo-brother's presence than she'd been all day.

After several long moments, Harry nodded slightly. "As you wish, Quinn."

Quinn only knew of the adventure what Harry had told her, though she was certain that he was leaving things out. Harry and Uma had won the race for the Lost Revenge, gathered a crew and blackmailed Yen Sid. The professor had given them a map that led them to Uma's mother's shell necklace on the Isle of Doom, the necklace had led them to the trident and, as always, the VKs had made it there first. When he'd recounted that, Quinn boiled with fury just as much as Uma. Harry had actually backed away from them in trepidation. But then Quinn had deflated, fed up with being angry all the time. She just wanted to let go and move on, while Harry was angry enough for the both of them. The tv in the corner of _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_ flickered, showing a news rapport telling everyone that the preparations for a royal cotillion were underway, while Uma grumbled darkly next to Quinn, vowing to bide her time. Harry wrapped an arm around the red-haired princess, running a hand up and down her arm as the people on screen discussed which prince, princess or VK would attend the cotillion with whom.


	5. Chapter 5

Jay lay back on his bed, humming _the_ lullaby to himself as the image of Quinn, when she'd sung it in her room, played in his head. He felt himself slip off into slumber when the door burst open, causing him to jump up. Mal entered the room, slamming the wooden barrier shut behind her again before she set about pacing back and forth so fast Jay wondered if she was actively trying to wear the carpet down to shreds. "What's up?"

"I don't know if I can do this," Mal stated, throwing her hands in the air exasperatedly, "I never have any free time, there's so much to prepare for the cotillion and Evie's on my back about the dress _all_ the time." She didn't notice Jay's befuddled look, moving to walk in circles around Jay and Carlos' table. "I'm so tired, but I don't want to let anyone down and I just…"

Jay held his hands up, stopping her. "What are you talking about?" He was so genuinely confused, unable to connect the dots in his sleepy, Quinn-filled mind. Mal growled in frustration and resumed walking around the table. "Mal," he interrupted, frowning at her, "What is it you think you can't do?"

"_This!_" The blonde gestured around them, at herself and at the 3D-printer on the table. "All of it, from the pretty dresses to the press conferences to the freaking breakfast in the morning!" She was aware that she wasn't making any sense, but she was so sick of being the perfect Auradon girl. Her magic was flaring from lack of use, the spellbook in her bag mocking her whenever she laid eyes on it and she just wanted some kind of outlet or escape. "I don't belong here," Mal continued, not giving Jay a chance to reply, "Sometimes I miss just screaming at people and making them cower in fear!"

Jay's eyes widened. "Hold on," he said, walking up to grasp her shoulders, "We both know that you love being here." Mal nodded, though reluctantly, which was enough for him. "It's a lot to get used to," he added, "but Auradon is home, more so than the Isle ever was, and you'll get used to it eventually." He was lying to her face, but he couldn't be bothered with acknowledging that fact at that time. Later, while tucked into bed trying to sleep, he would revisit those words, but as it was, he was busy keeping Mal from doing something stupid. "It gets better, even if it's a change of pace that we're not fully accustomed to." Mal nodded, hugging him before leaving the room. Jay slumped down on his bed, suddenly even more exhausted than before.

* * *

For the next few days, he was certain that his words had resonated with Mal. That bubble burst when Evie announced that Mal had left for the Isle. So, once again, the VKs found themselves on the Isle. Only, Ben was with them. King Ben, son of Belle and the Beast, who had no clue how to conduct himself on a place like the Isle. Jay rolled his eyes as Evie and Carlos did their best to instruct him on how to behave, silently noting that Quinn, who was probably the least evil person on the Isle, would laugh in Ben's face if she saw him. The former thief showed the way along the paths of the Isle, wincing as Gil, son of Gaston, suddenly ran right into Ben. It only got worse as the pirate announced that Uma would freak when he told her that they were there before running off. Figuring that Mal would be at Bargain Castle, the four Auradonians rushed off before anyone else realized who Ben was. At first, Jay was reluctant to let Ben talk to Mal alone, as the whole reason Mal had snapped had to do with the king, but seeing an opportunity to sneak away, he agreed to let Ben go first.

He snuck down the streets of the Isle, leaving Evie and Carlos outside Bargain Castle. In almost no time, he stopped outside Quinn's shop. The sign read 'open', but Quinn wasn't there, the red hair replaced by the blonde curls of CJ Hook, Harry's sister. Jay didn't know much about the girl, only that she was one of three kids fathered by Captain Hook and that she preferred wooden beads over glass ones. Disappointed, he turned back and returned to his friends. Ben was walking down the stairs just as he arrived back at Bargain Castle, shaking his head sadly. When Evie asked where Mal was, they were all surprised to hear that she had thrown Ben out, telling him that she wasn't coming back to Auradon. Evie tried fruitlessly to reason with Mal, Jay telling her quietly to give their friend some time to cool off. As if the night wasn't bad enough already, Carlos suddenly called their attention to him, asking where Ben was. None of them had seen him walk away. A shadow approached and they let out a breath of relief, only for Jay's heart to stop in his chest. Harry Hook stood in front of them. "What did you do with Ben?" Silently, Jay congratulated himself for sounding more fierce than he felt. Harry was Quinn's closest friend and ally, he didn't doubt that the pirate was out for his blood.

"Ooh, uh, we nicked 'im," Harry told them gleefully, turning to gesture vaguely down the path he'd come from, "Mm-hmm." He faced the three former islanders, barely concealing the dangerous glint in his eyes. "Yeah," he continued, "and if ye want te see 'im again, 'ave Mal come to the Chip Shoppe tonight." He paused briefly for effect, his inner drama-queen itching to get out even as his arms itched with the urge to shove his hook into Jay's abdomen. "Alone," he spoke, purposely making his voice just a little ominous, "Uma wants a little visit." Done with the business side of things, Harry turned his gaze to Jay. There were many things he could do to the thief, for he would always be a thief in the pirate's eyes, but he had to ensure that Jay struck first. If he didn't, Quinn would be mad at him instead of Jay. "Aw, Jay," he cooed, adopting a pouty face, "Seems like ye've lost yer touch." It worked like charm, or one of Quinn's darling little bags of herbs against headaches, the long-haired man launching towards the pirate before Evie could stop him. Harry anticipated the move, using Jay's momentum against him as he shoved the only slightly shorter guy into a wooden pillar, hook placed against his pulse-point. "You're not the only one," he whispered darkly, pressing the tip of the hook hard enough into Jay's skin to make him wince, "She got reckless after ye left, taking more risks, and got caught." Harry felt Jay's breath hitch at his words, dragging the sharp metal down his throat, a bright red line in its wake. "Her mother keeps 'er locked away now, unable to ever leave the tower, all because of ye." Slowly, he trailed the tip of the hook from Jay's throat to his collarbone, where the pirate pressed hard enough to draw blood. A hiss escaped the other man's throat as Harry traced a thin line, red liquid spilling forth. "I won't stop," he vowed lowly, his words for Jay's ears only, "until ye bleed as much as Quinn's heart did." Satisfied with his work for the moment, Harry let Jay go before sauntering away, whistling a merry little tune. He had accomplished what he wanted, after all, striking fear into the heart of the man who had broken his best friend's heart.

* * *

Hoping to avoid questions, Jay climbed up the side of Bargain Castle to tell Mal about Ben's kidnapping, Carlos and Evie following him. Mal left to see Uma, alone as requested, leaving her friends to impatiently wait for her to come back. While Carlos busied himself with making a point by sitting down, Evie turned to Jay, eyes bright with unshed tears and questions. "Quinn's trapped in her tower," he whispered to her, telling her what Harry had told him, "and he vowed to make me bleed for hurting her." Evie's gasp was soft as she placed a hand over her mouth, but Jay waved her off, gesturing to Carlos. They could talk more when they were alone.

Carlos was more perceptive than he was ever given credit for though. When Mal returned and told them that Uma demanded the magic wand in exchange for Ben. They hatched a plan and while the girls headed off to _Lady Tremaine's Curl Up and Dye_, the guys went back to the limo and went back to Auradon to make a fake wand with the 3D-printer. "What did Harry say to you," he asked, startling Jay, "when he pushed you against that pillar?" He'd found the interaction strange, unable to pin-point a moment when Harry had expressed hatred against Jay before. They didn't even know each other, as far as Carlos was aware. Jay heaved a heavy sigh from the driver's seat, something weighing on his mind.

"I dated his best friend before we left for Auradon," Jay finally admitted, seeing Carlos' jaw drop in the corner of his eye, "I made her a promise to come back and when I didn't, well, I guess I broke her heart." Carlos still didn't pick his jaw back up and Jay resisted the urge to tease him for his, for once, speechless state. "Harry and I were friends before I left, but now he's vowed to pretty much kill me for hurting her."

"_You dated Uma?_"

Jay choked on his breath at Carlos' incredulous words, turning his wide gaze to his friend. "_No_," he said seriously, shaking his head so fast it hurt, "Quinn." The name alone sent tingles down his spine, the image of blood-red tresses and sparkling blue eyes flitting through his mind. He shook his head stubbornly, refusing to let himself be pulled down that rabbit hole. "I think she was on Uma's side for a while, though," he revealed, seeing Carlos' eyes widen, "But I'm not sure if that's still true." Jay sighed as Carlos sent him a confused glance. He wasn't sure how to explain it in a way that didn't reveal just how deeply his feelings for Quinn ran. He didn't feel ready to confront that just yet. "Harry Hook's her best friend," he explained, smiling slightly as Carlos listened with rapt attention, "he's far more loyal to her than to Uma but Evie told me that the pirates were blocking all paths to Quinn the last time we were on the Isle, which makes me think that maybe Uma and Quinn had some kind of agreement that made Uma let Harry use her pirates to keep watch over Quinn." He paused, waiting for Carlos to absorb the information. The black-and-white-haired boy nodded for him to continue and Jay took a moment to gather his thoughts. "I snuck off to see her earlier but there were no pirates around this time, which makes sense if either one of them ended the alliance." The rest of the drive was filled with a contemplative silence as they both recovered from the revelations. Jay couldn't believe that he had finally told someone else about Quinn, someone who had no prior relationship with her.

Getting a replica of Fairy Godmother's wand was easier than getting rid of Lonnie. She had snuck up on them when they prepared to leave and adamantly refused to leave. So with a hopeless wish that Harry wouldn't misconstrue his relationship with Mulan's daughter, Jay let her come along. They met up with Evie and Mal outside the entrance to the Goblin Wharf, Quinn's shop dimly lit but occupied by Harriet Hook. With a final, heavy sigh, Jay followed his friends to get Ben.

* * *

Harry grinned maliciously as he leaned Ben over the water at a perilous angle. He could see the trepidation in Jay's eyes and savored it, letting the king fall forward just a little farther. Uma's command for him to bring over Ben had Harry rolling his eyes as he just barely avoided reminding her that he wasn't doing it for her. He liked Uma well enough and she was a decent captain, but his priority, first and foremost, was and always would be Quinn. The trade was smooth, but he knew something was fishy. When they realized that the wand was fake, he felt his fury ignite all over again. How dare the low-life street-rat trick him? The resulting sword fight had him fuming. He hadn't even managed to make the smallest of cuts on Jay, no matter how hard he tried. Harry glowered over Uma's shoulder as the Auradonians fled and Mal kicked the gangplank away from the Goblin Wharf entrance. They were stuck, for the moment. The only comfort he had was the memory of the look on Jay's face when he'd told the thief about Quinn willingly surrendering the Isle to Uma and, because he couldn't resist twisting the knife deeper, that Quinn had stopped caring about anyone or anything. Only the part about the surrender was true but, as far as Harry was concerned, Jay didn't need to know that.


	6. Chapter 6

The desire to go home had been deep even before Uma showed up at the cotillion with a cursed Ben, Jay could admit that. He regretted accepting Lonnie's invitation to attend with her, even more so when Evie pulled him aside and told him that the girl had a crush on him. He didn't want to encourage her, not when he had feelings for someone else. So when the night finally came to an end, he pulled Lonnie aside. "Look," he said seriously, "I had a great time with you tonight." She beamed at him, reaching for his face. He intercepted the movement, pushing her hand away gently as her smile dimmed. "I had a great time with you tonight _but_," he continued, feeling nauseous at the disappointed frown marring Lonnie's features, "I have feelings for someone else and I don't want any misunderstanding between us."

"Who is she?"

It was a dangerous question, one that he couldn't answer without revealing more than he wanted to. He couldn't say that Lonnie didn't know her as the girl knew most, if not all, girls at Auradon Prep and it was out of the question to straight up tell her that he liked a girl from the Isle. He didn't want his motives to be questioned, not again. But he needed to say something. "It doesn't matter," he finally said, wincing at how much it sounded like an excuse, "What matters is that I only like you as a friend." Tears rose in Lonnie's eyes, but Jay did nothing to comfort her. He didn't want to give her false hope.

Evie walked over to Jay when she saw Lonnie hurriedly walking away from him. "You're really serious about Quinn, aren't you?" She envied him in that aspect, as she herself still wrestled with her feelings for Harry even though she was in a happy relationship with Doug. She liked her boyfriend, she really did. But it wasn't the same overwhelmingly warm, blushing affection that she felt for Harry. She wished that she was as sure of her feelings for either Harry or Doug as Jay was about his feelings for Quinn. "I guess we'll see if she is one of the people Ben brings over next."

"She won't be and you know that," Jay grumbled, dropping his face into his hands, "She's as likely to be invited to Auradon as Harry." Evie deflated slightly and he felt bad for bringing up the pirate, wrapping her into his arms in a hug. "But yeah, I'm serious about her." The blue-haired fashion designer nodded against his chest, squeezing him tighter in response. "Someday," he vowed once again, "Somehow."

* * *

Hope flickered in his heart as he and his friends went through the applications from the Isle. When Evie told him that the villain kids would be given a chance to apply to go to Auradon, rather than just having Ben pick them out, Jay knew that there was a realistic chance that Quinn would apply. His hope only grew when Evie continued by telling him that the original four VKs would choose the applicants. But after an hour of sifting through applications, Quinn's name had yet to pop up. He made it a point to read through them all thoroughly, even after Evie shook her head to tell him that she hadn't seen it. Reaching the bottom of the pile, Jay resigned himself to the fact that Quinn hadn't applied. He left the room, ignoring the feeling of Evie's pitying gaze on his back.

Quinn glared at Harry. "You are so unbelievable selfless, did you know that?" It was an insult, no matter how half-hearted it was, and Harry growled in frustration. She was irritated too, but that didn't mean the discussion would end. They'd been borderline arguing for several days. Harry kept insisting that he would stay on the Isle to protect her while Quinn, in turn, insisted that he had to go to the Isle and find happiness.

"And ye're out of yer mind if ye think I'm leavin' ye 'ere alone," he retorted, crossing his arms, "Yer mum's gotten worse and ye're in danger." He refused to be swayed on the matter. Queen of Hearts had started talking to herself shortly after the announcement that the next four villain kids would be brought to Auradon and Harry was worried that the thought of Quinn leaving would drive the queen to do something rash. "Either _we_ go or _we_ stay, Quinn," he continued, tilting her head gently so he could meet her eyes, "I'm not leavin' ye with yer mum."

Tears rose in Quinn's eyes at his words. "Harry, please," she whispered desperately, "I don't want to hold you back." Harry reared back to argue but she silenced him by pulling him into a hug. They rarely indulged in physical displays of affection, it wouldn't do either of them any favors if they got caught, but in the few moments that they gave in to the temptation, they truly felt like brother and sister. And as his sister, she needed to let him go. Or, in Quinn's case, _convince _him to go. "Listen to me," she murmured, tears running down her cheeks, "I am so grateful for everything you've done for me, ever since we were kids." Harry kissed her head and her lips turned up in a watery smile even as she was pained to say goodbye. "But it's my turn to do something for you," Quinn pulled away from him, seeing his eyes glisten in the dim light of her bedroom, "You have a chance to get out and I want you to take it." Harry looked hesitant but she could tell that his resolve was crumbling. She took off her favorite ring, a gold band set with a solitaire sapphire, giving it to him. He looked at her, frowning. "Take this and make it your goal to give it back," Quinn said, closing his fingers around it, "If you get out you can give it back when you come to get me and if you don't get out you can give it back when you come to figure out a new plan."

The pirate looked from the ring to her face and back before nodding resolutely. He didn't have to say what he was thinking, she already knew him well enough to understand. Harry would succeed where Jay failed. He kissed her forehead and gave her another quick hug before leaving. He had to find Gil so they could plan their escape.

* * *

Evie watched Ben propose to Mal with a bittersweet weight in her chest. She was so happy for Mal, so proud of her friend for finding love and kindness after growing up to believe that neither of those things really existed. But as Doug hugged her to his side, a wide grin on his face, Evie found herself questioning whether or not she could ever have that future with him. Her feelings for him were uncertain, they always had been. She knew she liked him but, with Harry lingering in the back of her mind even when Doug kissed her, she doubted that a potential marriage with her boyfriend would be happy. He deserved someone who was into him. Only him.

With a small, accepting smile on her lips, Quinn watched from her tower as the reformed villain kids left with the new recruits for Auradon. While she wanted to get away from her mother, she had no desire to go to Auradon as a charity project. No, the only way she was ever leaving the Isle was if the terms were fair, with the barrier down and the children free. Her heart skipped a beat as Hades suddenly burst from the crowd and launched himself toward the closing dome, getting stuck in it. A quick battle of strength between him and Mal had the purple-haired queen-to-be sending Hades back behind the invisible wall. Disappointed, Quinn retired to her room. She had far more important things to deal with.

The theft of the crown and Maleficent's scepter was shocking but for Evie, it was far more shocking to hear that there were discussions about closing the barrier for good after Hades' attempt to escape. Her eyes watered as she thought of Harry, Diego, and Quinn who, among so many others, deserved a second chance. When Quinn's name passed through her list of people who deserved freedom, Evie's head snapped up. Jay. Dread formed like a heavy knot in her stomach as she wondered how he would react to the news. Ever since coming to Auradon he'd spent most of his time wondering how to make things right with Quinn, how to get her away from her imprisonment in House of Cards. If the barrier closed for good… he would be devastated. But Evie was confident in Mal's ability to speak up for the kids on the Isle.

* * *

Jay had absolutely no idea what had led up to him finding Mal outside Evie's house with Audrey. Well, it wasn't so much the fact that he found her outside Evie's house. It was the 'with Audrey' part that confused him, that and the fact that she was an old hag, reminiscent of pictures he'd seen painted of Evil Queen when she was disguised to trick Snow White. Dizzy screamed when she laid eyes on the formerly purple-haired girl and well, Jay didn't blame her. Mal revealed that they needed to get Hades' ember and he was reluctant to go back. As far as he knew, Harry was still on the warpath and an angry Harry Hook was a dangerous one. He rushed to get his things with Carlos, who commented that not only was Audrey aiming to be the queen she was apparently aiming to be Queen of Mean. Jay laughed. "There is only one Queen of Mean and it ain't Audrey," he quipped, but Carlos only looked confused, "Never mind."

Once on the Isle, the VKs parked their scooters outside Dr. Facilier's Voodoo Arcade. Evie looked around the space, smiling when she watched Celia interact with her father. The kids seemed to genuinely enjoy themselves and she hoped that one day she'd see the smiles on their faces again when they stepped into Auradon. Suddenly, Carlos called them over. He was watching a news report on a tv, where the reporter was talking about a sleeping spell. Apparently, Audrey was reportedly responsible for the curse, though the reporter didn't seem to believe it. "Maybe we should go to _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo_," she suggested carefully, "There are all sorts of cures and reversal spells there." As expected, her words weren't taken kindly.

"Absolutely not," Mal protested, "We can't trust her and she'll ask for something we can't give her in return." Carlos nodded in agreement.

Jay knew that Mal was right, but he also knew she had no idea just how right she was. If Quinn found out they were asking for her help, she wasn't even very likely to let them through the door. "Mal's right," he commented, "besides, Quinn's a known associate of Harry Hook and after last time I really don't think we need to increase the risk of running into him." Evie looked disappointed but nodded. Doctor Facilier raised an interested eyebrow.

"Quinn, you say?" He shook his head sadly, hands on his heart. "No one's seen her in a long time," he told them, hugging Celia to him as if to protect her from harm, "Rumor has it that her mother finally lost the few marbles she had left since Hook's kids run her store these days." He saw the horrified looks on the kids' faces and smiled. "Not to worry though," he added, "As far as I know she hasn't passed to the other side."

* * *

The urge to check on Quinn was overwhelming Jay as they left the arcade. The bad luck that seemed to permeate the day continued as they saw Harry, Gil and some other pirates drive off with their scooters. Jay followed after them with Evie and Carlos on his heels.

Mal stopped Celia from following their friends. "They got this," she stated confidently, "You and me gotta go find the ember." The voodoo-girl nodded, stating matter-of-factly that it was Hades' nap time. Mal followed her over the Isle, into a dark, hidden corner. The metal gate was decorated with boards and tires, forming a skull and above it were more boards forming the words 'get lost'. There was also a sign warning visitors about the dog.

Celia saw Mal looking at the sign. "You'll see," she said ominously, "Stay quiet in here, it echoes like crazy." She led Mal deeper into the cavernous tunnels, urging her along when the barking started. As they got onto the bike-like transportation that would take them to Hades' lair, Celia made quiet conversation. "The only other visitor that ever comes here is his daughter," she said quietly, pedaling along, "I've never met her though, so I think she has another way to get in."

Mal was stunned. Because she had never been to visit her father. Which meant that, unless Celia had gotten something wrong, she had a sibling somewhere on the Isle. A sister she never knew about, a sister that her father had bothered to be there for. Celia gestured that it was time to get off the weird bike they'd taken and they quietly snuck deeper into Hades' lair. Mal saw her father asleep on a makeshift armchair. The dog started barking again and she jumped. Celia chuckled and pointed to a gramophone, where a record of Cerberus barking was spinning. Hades' snoring brought them back to their goal. Trusting Celia, Mal snuck behind some drapes and up behind her father's sleeping form. Just as she grabbed the ember, it was snatched from her fingers. Her father turned around, looking at her with his chin resting on his wrist. "Hi, dad."


	7. Chapter 7

Hades studied his eldest daughter cooly. "Quite a show you put on the other day." Mal, in turn, congratulated his contribution. Grinning, he stood. "I was just coming to see you," he said mockingly, Mal looking at him with a disinterested expression on her face.

"Oh, really," she mocked back, "I thought you were perfectly content letting the sister I didn't know I had visit you." Hades scoffed and Mal felt more hurt than she should have at the notion that he had been there for her sister when he had left her behind. She hadn't seen her father since she was a baby, yet he had taken care of her sister, whoever she was.

Glaring at his daughter, Hades crossed his arms. "Not like she gave me that much of a choice," he defended, meeting her cold gaze with his own, "She showed up and stayed long enough to grow on me." He sunk into his armchair again, the ember still clutched in his grip. "She comes around maybe once a month," he continued, dragging his fingers through his hair, "to keep me company and get away from her loony mother."

"So what," Mal questioned, "She's worth your time and I wasn't?" The more she learned about her mystery sister, the more her resentment grew. She couldn't understand why her sister had been welcome into their father's life while Mal herself had been abandoned. Hades looked furious at her words and she couldn't help but take a step back.

He pointed at her accusingly. "I left your mother, Mali," he stated darkly, "Not you." He stood again, walking toward her. The little Facilier girl had hidden behind a pillar. "Your sister sought me out and asked me why I left rather than believing me capable of leaving a child behind," he told her, watching her rear back, "She understood that I couldn't be trapped with the madness that is her mother and tried to get to know me." Mal looked wounded, but Hades was hurt too. She, if anyone, knew how difficult Maleficent was to live with.

Mal shook her head. "I don't want to hear whatever sob story you prepared," she spat, "I came here for the ember, so if you want to make up for being a terrible dad, give it to me." Something in his eyes softened, though she had no idea why, and he gave her the sapphire and a warning that it wouldn't do everything for her the way it did for him. She could feel his eyes on her as she grabbed Celia and left. "Evie's the only one who knows that he's my dad," she stated, not letting her feelings show, "And as far as I'm concerned, he doesn't even exist." But her sister did. Mal wanted to know who the mysterious relative she could've grown up with was.

* * *

Jay could tell that something was up with Mal when she and Celia met them by the bridge but didn't ask. If she wanted to tell him what she was going through, she would. He activated the button and opened the barrier, stepping out onto the conjured bridge as they hadn't managed to get their scooters back. As Evie was admiring Mal's bluer look, Jay saw something in the corner of his eye. He turned to the closing barrier just as Harry and Gil jumped out. Carlos and Jay pushed the pirates back as they tried to pass and Harry's eyes flashed dangerously. The pirates pushed back, knocking Jay into Mal who dropped the ember. She had just managed to catch it when the son of Captain Hook shoved it out of her hand and toward the water. Where a tentacle caught it. Uma rose from the water, still in her half-octopus form, laughing mockingly as she asked if Mal had dropped something.

Harry and Gil stared in fascination as their captain disappeared into the water in a whirlpool. They stared after her for a moment, leaning over the edge of the bridge, turning around when she appeared behind them. Harry grinned at her. "Welcome back" he greeted, glad to see his friend.

"It's good to be back," Uma returned, "How's Quinn, is she okay with you leaving?" The redheaded princess had grown on her, and though they still weren't officially friends, Uma wanted to know how the poor thing was handling her best friend's departure.

Harry sighed, looking back toward the tower. "She practically shoved me out the door and made me promise t' come get 'er when the time is right," he replied, turning to Uma again, "But she's as good as she can be with that messed up mum of 'ers." Uma nodded, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. In his peripheral vision, Harry could see Jay and Evie share a look. Good. Uma turned to Mal, mocking her as the purple-haired girl asked for the ember back. Harry's eyes shot to his hairline when his captain, in a move reminiscent of Quinn's trading techniques, traded the ember for the freedom of the people on the Isle. The three pirates grinned when Mal agreed and Uma tucked the rock away as leverage to ensure that the queen-to-be kept her word.

Evie, finally seeing an opportunity to end the animosity between the groups, though mostly between Jay and Harry for Quinn's sake, placed her hands on her hips and gave each group a serious look "We could try to be friends," she suggested, raising her eyebrows, "Put our history behind us and celebrate our differences." To encourage her skeptical spectators, she pulled a small, mesh pouch from her sleeve and offered them gum. When no one accepted, and Mal demanded control from Uma, Evie sighed and took a gum-ball for herself as they walked past her.

* * *

During the walk back to Auradon, Jay kept an eye on Harry. He didn't trust that the pirate wouldn't lash out in a surprise attack. But to his surprise, all three of the intruders were focused on looking around as they walked. Gil, in particular, was absolutely enthralled by everything that crossed his path. He studied the trees, marveling at how green they were and the fact that they had leaves while the bushes had flowers. Jay explained to him that the fruit he was eating was called grapes before rushing to stop Harry from stealing money from a cursed student. "You can't do whatever you want," he stated darkly, "This is Auradon, not the Isle."

"Clearly," Harry cooed, "If we were on the Isle, ye wouldn't be spendin' time with us lowly peasants, would ye?" He saw Evie's eyes widen when he thew a glance over Jay's shoulder, winking at her as he put the money back. He rounded on Jay, hook positioned at his pulse point. "I'm not afraid of ye, Jay," he warned, "If it weren't for _her_ ye'd be dead."

Harry pushed away from him and Jay was relieved. He shook off the strange feeling he got as the pirate's words registered with him, about how Harry would've killed him if it weren't for her, which had two different outcomes depending on who 'her' was. It could be that Harry refused to give Evie a reason to see him as a monster. But it could also mean that Quinn still harbored feelings for Jay and would be cross with her best friend if he killed him, a notion that had Jay's heart beating faster. Again, Jay shook himself and focused on Gil and his fascination with the things they encountered. He could remember being the same when he first arrived.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the villain kids in Auradon, Quinn had witnessed the whole exchange on the bridge from her tower. She'd seen the reluctant truce and understood that something was at stake in Auradon that very well could have Harry, Uma and Gil hailed as heroes. Panic seized her. For all she knew, Harry would forget about her, just as Jay had. She couldn't remain trapped under her mother's watchful, sinister eyes any longer. Making a split-second decision, Quinn threw her door open and stormed down the stairs to the dining room, where her mother was seated for dinner. "Mother, might I have a word?" She didn't wait for an answer, slamming her palms down onto the table. Queen of Hearts looked up at her, eyes hard and dangerous. "I fell in love, mother." It was enough. The dark-haired woman had her daughter by the hair and dragged her toward the dungeons as she shouted for the card soldiers to prepare the guillotine. The queen opened the door to one of the cells and her daughter took her chance. Quinn wrenched herself out of her mother's grip and pushed the older woman into the cell, shutting and locking it. "Your reign over me is over, mother," she hissed through the bars in the small window on the door, "There will be no more locking me into my room, no more torturing me into submission." Feeling a weight lift off of her shoulders, Quinn turned to the card soldiers. "You're not to follow her orders anymore," she stated, "House of Cards is mine now and you are under my command." She raised her eyebrows. "Understood?"

They saluted her, standing at attention as she passed them. "Yes, princess."

"Good—" she gestured for them to follow her as she left the dungeons, ignoring her mother's screams— "Now it's about time that I get back to my shop, while you return to the streets of the Isle and make sure that no one bites off more than they can chew." Quinn, for the first time in months, walked down the paths of the Isle in plain view. She didn't have to hide anymore. Throwing a withering glare in the direction of Auradon, she vowed to never fall for the Auradonian charm. She'd lost her friends to the prissy, pink kingdom and she refused to lose herself.

Harry knew, the moment he stepped onto Auradon Prep's grounds, that he preferred the dark grandeur of House of Cards to the sugary-sweet tea party that was Auradon. Walking through the halls, he missed the imposing halls of the place where he had spent half his life. He saw the benefits of Auradon, food, and money, but it didn't compare to what he was used to or comfortable with. Until they saw the claw marks on the walls. That is far more like something he could find in House of Cards. Of course, at Quinn's, it was a very much intentional move, a decorative choice made by a lunatic queen. Even though Carlos asked, there was no need to answer. No, the claw marks had not been there before. They try not to dwell on it and follow the talking dog to a room where the walls are lined with suits of armor. Inspecting a sword, Harry felt the prickly sensation in the back of his neck indicating that he was being watched. "I can feel you looking."

"Good."

His eyes turned skywards as he turned to face Jay. "Ye know, she asked me to save 'er," he taunted, ignoring the urge to hit Gil for his sentimentality as he talked to the dog, "And I find meself wonderin' if maybe she is sick of waitin'." Turning around, he pushed into Jay's personal space and lightly dragging the tip of his hook from just below the former thief's eye to the corner of his mouth. A wicked smirk graced his lips as he saw Jay's throat bob nervously. "Any questions ye might 'ave won't be answered by me," he growled, "As far as I'm concerned, ye ain't part of 'er life anymore."

Before Jay could retaliate, or Harry make good on his threat to make Jay bleed, their attention was drawn to the bickering between Mal and Uma. Harry's focus didn't stay there long though, as it was grabbed by the suspiciously moving suit of armor. "I believe we're being challenged," he said, trying to get Uma's attention. But Uma just continued her hostile discussion with Mal and ignored him, agitating the pirate. It was no secret, in the least, that his captain was not his favorite person in the whole world. That position was taken by his sister in all but blood. Harry had thought though, that he had earned enough resect from Uma not to be ignored. When the armor moved again, he decided he'd had it. "Girls," he snapped, finally getting them to look at him, "We have a situation here."

* * *

Evie would have thought beating moving suits of armor was easier than it was. She parried an attack with some ease, remembering the lessons she had been given. Glancing back towards Harry, she couldn't help but think it was the worst possible moment to be sucked into memories of him holding her from behind as he helped her practice her fencing. There was no one better to do it though. His father had drilled him since childhood and once he became the appointed chaperone of Quinn he had practiced with the Army of Cards. Momentarily distracted, Evie didn't notice the sword sweeping in her direction until the sound of it hitting another blade reached her ears. She turned just in time to see Harry maneuver an empty knight away from her. Silently she thanked him. For saving her and for teaching her.

Fighting the knights with Harry had Jay reminiscing as well. He recalled all the times they protected Evie and Quinn, even though they had to do so in the dark more often than not. He worked _with_ Harry, for the first time since leaving the Isle and he silently admitted that he missed the pirate's blunt observations and honest demeanor when it wasn't directed at him. Mal uttered a spell, making the knights dance until they literally dropped. In celebration of their victory, Jay chest-bumped Harry, their first-ever friendly interaction outside the walls of Quinn's shop. It felt good to rekindle some kind of kinship, but it didn't last long. They were harshly reminded of the fact that they weren't supposed to be friends when Mal and Uma lowered their hands after almost high-fiving each other.


	8. Chapter 8

The more time passed without Mal and Uma acknowledging that they were great at working together, the more Evie considered outing the hidden history the two groups had. The hidden connection might have been enough to at least push Harry and Jay into accepting each other again and that could have been enough to cause Mal and Uma to unite in their anger at being lied to by people they thought were their friends. However, since that would cause more unnecessary rifts, Evie took another approach. Icebreakers. In a move that was so bold she surprised herself, she considered the pirates and settled on saying something nice to Harry. "Harry," she said, causing him to look at her with cautious curiosity, "Great accent." She kept her tone as to the point and non-flirty as she could. Her icebreakers did not work, though, and after a brief discussion they split up, boys to go look for Ben and girls to look for clues about Audrey.

Once again, Jay was struck by Gil's fascination with all things Auradon and fresh food. The undoubtedly kindest of the pirates stopped to eat berries and then suddenly decided to play Evie's icebreaker and complimented him. He felt strangely significant and humbled by the fact that Gil admired his agility. Somewhat thrown, Jay chuckled and joined Gil at the bush. "I like how you get a kick out of a berry bush."

"I guess you've seen everything by now, huh?" Gil felt embarrassed as he realized how obvious he had been, unlike Harry who skulked around pretending like he wasn't enjoying Auradon over the Isle. "Furry rocks, giant fish," he continued, glancing at the berries in his hand, "You're probably used to grabbing lunch off of a bush."

"No, I mean, not really," Jay admitted, though he was ashamed to realize that he was definitely taking his new life for granted, "I mainly just use the vending machines at practice." Eating some more berries, he smiled at Gil. "You know, tourney kinda eats up the most of my time, so…" The wholesome conversation was interrupted by Harry laughing hysterically, mocking him for playing tourney. It didn't seem to affect Gil though, which Jay appreciated. Ignoring the pirate, they got to talking about adventures they wanted to go on, driving Harry spare. The meaner of the two pirates interrupted once again, telling them that Dude had gone off in another direction, just in time for them to hear Dude call for Carlos.

* * *

It broke Evie's heart to find Dizzy and the Smee twins affected by the sleeping curse. But it was nowhere near to punch in the stomach it was to find Doug. Ignoring the nagging sensation that it wouldn't work, she tried to wake him up, shaking him and calling his name. She ignored whatever Uma and Mal were saying until Ursula's daughter suggested that Evie would be able to wake Doug up. Because that was the issue she had been trying to ignore. She recalled some words of wisdom Quinn had given her during one of their many conversations about Evil Queen's demands that her daughter find a prince. '_Evie, just because someone is your true love, that doesn't mean you are theirs_.' Never before had those words resonated with the blue haired princess. She was confronted with the truth she had kept locked away for a long time. Her true love wasn't lying on the floor in front of her, affected by a sleeping curse. No, he was out in the woods, trying to find Ben. "Can I be alone with him?" The stall worked and Evie glanced back at Doug as Mal and Uma left them. She stood up straight and paced back and forth a few times, trying to think of another way. She doesn't find one. All she could do was hope that her possibly being Doug's true love was enough. Pressing her lips to his, she silently acknowledged that it was a goodbye.

They all waited silently for a moment and Mal was shocked to see that it didn't work. Evie pulled away from Doug and looked down at her hands, further surprising Mal by seeming guilty, rather than devastated. Everyone knew that Doug adored his girlfriend and as Evie's best friend, Mal could have sworn that the blue-haired designer reciprocated those feelings. Before she could move to comfort Evie and ask the questions burning on her tongue, Uma absently wondered where the guys were and Mal's concern switched to her fiancé.

* * *

Whatever the group expected to see when they caught up with Carlos' mutt, it wasn't what they got. No, instead they were faced with Ben the Beast, rather than Ben the King. A Ben the Beast that lunged at them. Harry stepped back just in time to avoid getting caught on lethal claws and Carlos dragged Gil with him out of the way. The beast launched toward them again and Harry almost ended up ripped to pieces. Only Jay shoved him out of the way. Twice. Snarling at Carlos, Harry tried to ignore the feeling growing in his chest that he didn't care to identify. He inwardly cursed Gil's kindness as he pointed out that Beast Ben seemed injured and that Gaston had once told him that King Beast didn't handle pain well. They all volunteered Carlos to take care of whatever was hurting the bane of everyone's current existence and prepared to dodge another attack. Beast Ben roared as Carlos pulled his hand away and held up a large splinter. Harry winced, eyeing the piece of wood warily, even he unable to stop himself from feeling bad for the beast. A spray of water over their heads had them all turning around to see a girl in blue. Glancing back at the beast, they found the king in its place. Sagging against a tree in relief, Harry appraised the girl that had saved them as she explained that it was water from some Enchanted Lake. Grinning seductively, he approached her. "Well, well, well," he murmured appreciatively, "I'm Harry Hook and you, my little duckling are… ravishing." He was only somewhat disappointed when Carlos scoffed.

"Ravishing and taken… just in case anyone was confused."

While Jay assured Ben that, for the time being, Harry and Gil were on their side, Harry tried to reconcile himself with what had gone down. As they started to head to Evie's place, he could only imagine what kind of place it was considering her tastes, he approached Jay. "Hey, Jay, um," he began awkwardly, clearing his throat, "Yeah, thanks for saving me, gorgeous face." The responding smirk on Jay's face was enough to let Harry know that a truce had been established. If they could joke like they used to, they could one day be friends like they used to.

* * *

Back at Evie's place, the owner of the house watched with a small smile as Uma and Mal finally started to bond with each other. Evie herself was still ridden with guilt, a feeling she was sure would intensify once the real object of her affections came back. She listened as Mal admitted to having made a mistake when she alienated Uma, though she had no time to celebrate. The doors and windows were magically boarded up, trapping them inside. Celia came rushing down the stairs, panicked and they all huddled together. Mal tried uttering a spell, but it didn't work, further increasing Evie's fear. Her jaw dropped when Uma suddenly grabbed Mal's hand and they repeated the spell. It worked and Evie felt a smile so large it hurt her cheeks spread over her face. "You did it, together," she breathed in awe, looking between them, "This is what I've been talking about." Her joy grew as she watched her friends, because they were both her friends in her eyes, actually being civil, almost friendly, with each other. Though any joy she felt fell into a clump in her stomach when Celia announced that the boys were there with Ben. She followed the others outside, barely stopping herself from jumping into Harry's arms just like Mal had with Ben. Instead, she gave him a smile and let him greet Uma.

Jay caught the smile they shared, unbeknownst to her, and felt hopeful. He absently listened as Ben and Mal talked about Fairy Cottage and where it was, seeing Quinn in his mind's eye. Maybe, if Harry and Evie reconciled, they could help him get back in her good graces. He chuckled along with the others as they watched Carlos stumble through giving Jane her birthday present. The tender moment was interrupted when Ben suggested that Jane go find Fairy Godmother. "I don't know if it's a good idea to send her alone," he interjected, smiling apologetically at the girl in question, "I, for one would feel a lot better if someone else went too." Carlos agreed and Jay looked back at Ben. "Send Gil, he's cool and knows how to fight."

* * *

After strategizing, Harry waited impatiently as they approached Evil Princess' hideout. He was hoping for a fight, longing for the rush of danger. To his immense disappointment, they didn't find a fight, just a ponce screaming his lungs out as they set him free. Harry laughed, trying not to think back to the smile Evie had given him. He needed a distraction, something to take his mind off of the conflicted loyalties tearing him apart. He got more than he bargained for though. It started as with a joke between Uma and Mal. Which quickly evolved to the revelation that Mal never intended to keep her promise about letting all the kids off of the Isle. Harry's gaze snapped to Evie's before both of them looked at Jay.

"The barrier will be shut for good."

Perhaps for the first time since they were separated by Ben's decision to bring villain kids to Auradon, Jay found himself completely on Harry's side. He was reeling, thoughts of the promise he made to Quinn swirling through his head alongside the realization that he would be forced to break it. As a result, Jay did nothing while Uma called Mal out for taking advantage of them. Evie didn't defend her best friend either, placing a hand on Jay's shoulder in a show of support and solidarity. Harry came up to them, briefly squeezing Evie's hand as he approached Ben. Jay felt the pirate's pain as the anger in his words as he tried to yell at Ben was replaced by hopelessness. He silently vowed that he was going back to the Isle before the barrier closed. He would much rather be stuck on the Isle for the rest of his life, with a chance of winning back Quinn's trust, than remain in Auradon for the sake of a friend who lied to him. They all understood Celia when she threw Hades' ember in the birdbath. It was a little ill-timed but they understood no less. Harry looked at Evie and Jay one last time before he and Uma walked away.

Never before had Evie felt so hurt. She looked at Mal, disappointment seeping through her every pore. Mal tried to explain herself, but Evie refused to listen as she glared at her former best friend. "Closing the barrier was your idea?" Again, Mal tried to defend her choice, but Evie was done. So done. Gesturing wildly in the direction that Uma and Harry had gone, Evie raised her voice at Mal for the first time ever. "You say that you did it for us," she spat, "Yet you didn't stop to think about the fact that you were lying to Jay." Catching her own phrasing, she rushed to correct herself before Mal realized the meaning behind the words. Jay wasn't the one whose secret would be revealed that night. "You lied to Carlos and you lied to _me._" Tears rose in her eyes as started to back away from the girl she'd almost thought of as a better friend than Quinn.

"What about the kids we left behind on that island?" Mal looked like Evie had punched her, but Evie couldn't care less. She could feel Jay's silent support in the hand on her arm. She could hear Carlos' agreement in the fact that he didn't speak up to defend Mal. "Did you know that Doug didn't wake up because I loved someone else," she asked acidly, trying to keep her voice steady, "Did you know that if you close the barrier, I will never see _my_ true love again?" It only took a second for Mal to understand, but Evie was finished with letting the purple-haired liar talking over her. "I fell in love with Harry long before I met you," she bit out, tears streaming down her face, "And if he's going back, so am I." She turned and started to follow Harry and Uma, wondering if Jay would too.

"Hold up, Eves," Jay called, catching up to her, "I'll come with you."

* * *

Mal felt her world fall apart around her and rushed to apologize again. Before she could get a word out, a flash nearly blinded her and her friends were stone in front of her. She cried then, truly. She cried for her lost friends, for the choices she's made and the sister she would never learn more about. Stone-Evie's hand is locked with Stone-Jay's and that grip told her that if she didn't make things right, she would lose them both. Carlos would stay, she knew, he wasn't cut out for the Isle and he still had Jane. The loss of Evie and Jay though… Evie was her best friend and Jay was her first one. She couldn't let it happen. Rushing after Uma and Harry, Mal promised herself to set things straight.

It wouldn't be easy, Mal realized as she caught up to them. "Uma, stop," she called, running to get ahead of them, "Stop, please, I need your help, we have a chance if we do this together." Uma wasn't having it, rhetorically asking if her friends had ditched her. The reminder was a stab in the chest, but Mal pushed harder. "Ben saw something in you and today, Uma, I saw it too," she admitted, pleading with the pirate captain, "You care, Uma, you care about everybody and Auradon is worth saving." Seeing nothing but detached disinterest in Uma's gaze, Mal met Harry's furious one. "Evie told me that she loves you." Uma's eyes widened, as did Harry's. "She told me that she would go back to the Isle with you, but she can't do that if she's a statue, can she?"

"Ye talk pretty," Harry said, weakened by the possibility that Evie supposedly still loved him, "But we've already made up our minds." He couldn't afford to believe her, not when she just revealed that she had lied about something that affected all of their lives. Harry nodded in agreement as Uma made it clear that Mal had brought her troubles upon herself and that she had to figure out how to fix it alone. The kept going, leaving Mal behind.


	9. Chapter 9

Just as Mal contemplated running after them, a scream grabbed her attention. Celia. Without hesitating, she transformed into a dragon and flew to meet Audrey at the highest point of Auradon Prep. Celia was cowering in the corner of the tower and Mal breathed fire at Audrey, dodging spell after spell. The reptilian queen-to-be launched for the Evil Princess, only to be forced to stop when Audrey pulled Celia in front of her.

Harry and Uma came running just as Mal tried to reignite the ember. Uma's reminder that Mal was lost without the ember was unnecessary, as Harry was fully aware of the fact and still didn't want to help her. But as he considered it, he remembered what Quinn always said. "_I help them, Harry, because they will be indebted to me and that kind of power can change lives._" Cursing himself for listening to her, Harry knew that if he helped Mal, and by extension Auradon, the kingdom would be indebted to him and Uma. They could demand something in exchange for their heroic efforts. Uma had barely spoken before Mal was hit with a spell and came tumbling toward the ground. Resigning himself to the fact that he was helping, Harry followed Uma as they ran to see Mal. With Uma's help, Mal used the ember to finally get rid of the princess menace. He shared a look with his captain and hurried to where they had last seen the others, hoping to find their friends as humans rather than the statues Mal had told them they were.

* * *

Blinking several times, Jay looked around. Mal was gone and Harry and Uma were running toward them. No one had time to react before Harry swept Evie into his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back and Jay gave a half smile as he watched them. He wished that his reunion with Quinn would be as loving and intense. Remembering why they were there, Jay frowned at them. "What happened?" He was still angry, even as he listened to Uma explaining that Mal had defeated Audrey. One victory didn't excuse her lies.

Ben gathered all of them in Audrey's dorm and, even though her turning him to stone irked him, Jay was sad to hear that she was dying. The back-to-normal princess lay still in her bed, life slipping away from her. Mal finally spoke.

"There's only one person in the world who might be able to do something about this," she stated, voice low and regretful, "And that's Hades."

That wasn't true, everyone from the Isle knew it, but most villain kids would sooner take their chances with Hades than venture into House of Cards and risk being beheaded on the spot. So Jay didn't protest. He was curious about how they would get Hades' help though. Apparently, so was Ben.

"Hades?" Ben stared incredulously at his fiancée. "He wouldn't do it and I wouldn't risk it."

Mal glanced at Evie, who still refused to look at her without sadness and disappointment in her eyes. "Actually, he might do it for me," she admitted, knowing that she might as well let out all her secrets while her friends are already mad at her, "He's my father." Harry flinched and Mal absently wondered what his deal was.

"Well, I'll have to send guards to get him" Ben relented, seeing that Mal had some inexplicable trust that her father would help. Part of his being agreeable had much to do with the fact that he was a little stunned. Uma sighed and asked if she could hitch a ride, with Harry and Celia both asking to come along. Ben couldn't blame them. The Isle was their home as much as Auradon was his. He gave a small smile as Mal admitted her wrongdoings and apologized once again for lying. Looking back at Evie and Jay, Ben almost backed out of asking them the question weighing on his mind. "Are you leaving too?"

Jay shared a long look with Evie, silently trying to decide what to do. Neither wanted to go back to the Isle and leave the comforts and safety of Auradon behind, particularly considering the treatment they would get once it got out that the barrier would be closed for good. Evie glanced at Harry and Quinn's image flashed before Jay's eyes. "We're still considering it," he finally said, "We'll decide when you get ready to drive Hades back."

* * *

Sighing heavily, Harry approached Jay and held out his hand. The former thief frowned, accepting the peace-offering. Harry placed the necklace he'd worn with Quinn's sapphire ring in Jay's palm, closing his fingers around it. There was no need for words. A silent understanding passed and Jay nodded solemnly, stepping back to allow Harry to say goodbye to Evie. It remained to see whether or not it was a brief or forever kind of farewell. Kissing the love of his life, Harry pulled both her and Jay into an embrace before following Uma and Celia to get the limo back to the Isle.

Evie and Jay were still whispering in the corner of the room when Hades arrived. Mal tried not to think too much about the possibility of them leaving and instead formally greeted her father, letting Ben do most of the talking. She wanted to ask more questions, wanted to know who her sister was. But Audrey carried priority.

"Since when do heroes care about villains?" Hades regarded the king, his future son-in-law, coldly as he tried to explain. "She's one of your own?" He knew that his resentment wasn't doing anything to make them trust him, but it was deep-seated and old habits die hard. Chuckling mirthlessly, he continues. "When you guys try to destroy the world it's an error in judgment," he comments, watching the people in the room flinch, "But when it's one of us… lock 'em up and throw away the key." They all jumped when he lifted his arms, indicating his handcuffs. "I'mma need to use my hands." The baby king gave his permission and once his hands were free, Mal gave him the ember. The power felt good, right, as it surged through him and set his hands aflame. The temptation was overwhelming. But he wouldn't let his daughter down. So he healed the little princess.

Mal readily accepted Audrey's apology, countering it with an apology of her own. She had learned a lot about forgiveness and trust, hoping that she would earn it from her friends. When her father was taken away, Mal quickly followed. Her relationship with her best friends wasn't the only one that needed to be made right. "Dad," she called, watching as the guards turned him around, "I'm gonna have to miss you all over again." It was as close to an 'I love you' as she was ready for. Maybe, if the barrier wasn't closing, she could have gotten closer to him.

"Thanks for a glimpse of the sun." Hades smiled, showing his daughter that her words meant more to him than he could really express. The sensation of having his eldest child press her lips against his cheek was different than when his youngest did, even though both were special in their own way. He hoped they would meet one day, get to know each other and love each other the way he loved them both. As the guards took him away, Hades slipped Mal the ember. She would get much more use out of it than he would.

Tears of bittersweet happiness slipped down Mal's cheek as she watched him walk away. He had given her more affection in just a few minutes than her mother had all her life. Once again, her thoughts drifted to her mysterious sister. Maybe she had seen Hades' capability for love and affection. Maybe she hadn't let her resentment get in the way. Mal wanted to know whoever was capable of such goodness on the Isle. It pained her that she never would. Except, maybe she could. If her sister was able to think differently, Mal would too. For her father. For her sister. For Uma and Harry and everyone else who deserved a second chance. For Evie and Jay, who clearly had unfinished business on the Isle.

* * *

Days later, Mal stood and looked out over the crowd gathered. The announcement about the closing of the barrier clashed violently with the thoughts running through her head about second chances and getting to know one another. To her absolute relief, Evie and Jay decided to stick around. But she saw how Jay let his fingers trace the necklace Harry had given him, saw how Evie glanced toward the Isle every so often with a wistful expression on her face. So when she was called to make a speech, she made a split second decision. "I can't," she stated, drawing gasps from the gathered crowd and confused looks from her friends, "I can't be Queen of Auradon." Ben implored her, the beginning of heartbreak visible on his face. But she kept pushing. Her people deserved it. "I can't turn my back on the Isle," she continued, looking Ben in the eyes before she turned back to the crowd, "We made a decision to close the barrier forever and it was my idea." She felt the regret creep up on her again, regret she refused to live with. "But it was wrong." In the crowd, Evie smiled at her, giving her strength. "I've learned that you can't live in fear because it doesn't actually protect you from anything." Glancing at Audrey, Mal gave a watery chuckle. "You never know where the bad is gonna come from," she told them, "And you never know where the heroes are gonna come from either."

Jay watched his friend speak, proud. He was the last to forgive her, the last to let her speak to him again. He was glad he did.

"Without Uma and her pirates, Auradon would be gone," Mal announced, voice strong and clear, "And without Hades… my father… Audrey would be gone." Her words made the crowd gasp and Audrey look down at her shoes in shame and gratitude. She knew they would. But she needed to say her piece. "We are all capable of good and bad, no matter what side of the barrier we come from," she stated, clearly and proudly, "And that's why I can't be Queen of just Auradon, I have to be Queen of the Isle too, and it's time we take the barrier _down_ forever." Beast protested, but Ben took Mal's side. She knew he felt it too, the need to do better for the people who had done nothing wrong.

"I choose to be a King who moves forward," Ben spoke, looking back out over the crowd and at the Isle, "It's time for forgiveness and it's time for new beginnings." He looked at his parents for the last time as a King of Auradon. "The barrier will come down!" Those were the first words he spoke as King of Auradon and the Isle. Carlos cheered loudly, drawing laughs from the gathered Auradonians. People clapped excitedly as he asked Mal to bring the barrier down and his fiancée accepted the magic wand from Fairy Godmother.

Her friends joined her as she pointed the wand toward the Isle. "To make the world a better place we have to do it face to face," Mal spoke the spell with the other VKs by her side, because that was how it all started and therefore that was how it would end. They watched together as the barrier disappeared in a cloud of golden sparks and the bridge appeared, opening up a whole world of new possibilities.

* * *

After celebrating with the VKs, Mal and her closest friends, among them Uma, Harry and Gil, gathered at Evie's for a private celebration. They sat in her living room, laughing and smiling. Her father had gone back to his lair, claiming that he was getting too old to celebrate into the night, as though he couldn't dance circles around them any day of the week. She knew it would be an adjustment for him, for all of them really. But it was a good thing, at the end of the day. Holding the ember in her hand, she addressed her friends. "Thank you for supporting my relationship with my dad," she said, feeling the warmth of the glowing rock in her grip, "I actually wanted to talk to you about something else I would really like your support on." Evie looked away from Harry to give her a curious glance. Jay looked up from armwrestling with Gil and Uma and Carlos looked up from their game of chess. Ben's hand settled on Mal's waist, giving her courage. "When I went to get the ember with Celia, I found out that I have a half-sister, somewhere on the Isle," she announced, "and I would appreciate any help you're willing to give in trying to find her."

"Actually," Jay said, staring between the ember in Mal's hand and the sapphire ring dangling in the chain around his neck, "I think I might already know who it is." His words earned him several shocked stares, Evie's included. He held the ring up to her and Harry, pointing between it and the stone glowing between Mal's fingers. "Would she normally decide to wear blue, Eves?" Eyes widening, Evie shook her head. Harry tried to school his features into something resembling surprise, but Jay knew him well enough to see right through him. "She's Hades' daughter, isn't she?"

Harry nodded, a weary sigh slipping past his lips as he adjusted Evie in his arms. "I don't think she meant te tell me," he admitted, "But her mum's a loon and I always wondered what kept 'er sane." He recalled the tears in her eyes as she waited for him to push her away. He hadn't, of course, nothing could ever convince him to turn his back on her. For years he had kept her secret and if he hadn't been called out he would have kept it for many more.

"What are you guys talking about?"

Jay winced. He had almost forgotten that Mal was there. Turning to his friend, he held up the ring for her to see. "The stone on this thing matches the one in your hand, Mal," he said gently, "And I'm willing to bet that if you touch it it will glow." Tentatively, she reached out to graze her fingertips against the gold band. When it lit up, she looked at him hopefully. "It's Quinn's, Mal," he continued, watching shock take over her features, "It's her favorite ring."

"Quinn," Carlos stated, eyes wide, "As in 'Quinn's Quid Pro Quo, don't make a deal if you can't keep it' Quinn?"


	10. Chapter 10

"I don't think I ever met her," Mal whispered, leaning against Ben for support, "Harry, you're good friends with her, right?" She witnessed a silent conversation pass between Harry, Evie, and Jay. Clearly there was more to the story than she had been made aware. "I want to get to know her," she said when no one spoke up, "I want to know my sister."

Releasing Evie to stand up, Harry shook his head. "It's not that easy," he stated, glancing at Jay, "There's a lot of history between ye and Quinn, even if ye don't know it." He started pacing, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say in a way that didn't insult anyone. As it wasn't something he was used to, he was struggling. Eventually, he decided to just get to the point. "Quinn and Jay dated before ye left the Isle," he blurted, "And when ye left, he left 'er hangin' and broke 'er." It wasn't the most tactful choice of words, but that was what had happened. He wasn't sorry for saying it, a part of him still angry with Jay. "Even though she doesn't want te be angry anymore, I don't think she'll take it well if ye show up at 'er doorstep."

"Why won't he apologize then?"

"Believe me," Jay grumbled, "If I thought I could get within ten feet of that place without her mother beheading me, I would." He couldn't stop staring at the ring in his hand. It explained a lot about her and the business she did. The piece of the ember could help her harness the magic she used for her potions and Hades was also someone who stuck to the _quid pro quo_ kind of deals. He wasn't mad at her for not telling him, they hadn't known each other long enough to talk about things like that. He just missed her. A lot. "I never stopped trying to figure out a way to get back to her," he continued in a whisper, "And now that I can finally do that, she doesn't want to see me."

Recognizing that it would be for the best to drop the subject, for the time being, Ben nudged Mal gently. "We'll figure it out," he promised, taking her hand in his, "But right now we need to rest, it's been a long day." She nodded reluctantly, following him as they left with Carlos and Jane in tow.

Evie glanced at Harry. She had asked Doug to come over so they could talk and she was unsure if she wanted Harry there for that particular conversation. She decided to bite the bullet and turned to face the pirate fully. "I'm breaking up with Doug," she told him, stating the obvious, "I'm telling him that I tried to break his curse but that it didn't work because I'm in love with someone else." She hadn't meant to let that last part slip, but she did mean the words. Since she was nervous, she gave him no time to ponder on them. "I don't want you to be in the room when he's here, but if you want to stay tonight I would like that."

"I'll walk you back to the Isle," Jay murmured to Uma, letting Evie and Harry have their moment before he said goodbye, "I have something I need to take care of." The pirate captain looked strangely concerned but didn't protest. They quietly bid their friends goodbye before leaving, walking in silence.

* * *

As they were crossing the bridge, Uma stopped Jay. "Look, I asked around, for Harry's sake," she said seriously, glancing warily toward the Isle, "Something's changed, no one's sure what, and the Card Soldiers are roaming again." She pointed discreetly at a pair of nines that walked past the bridge and continued deeper onto the Isle. They were patrolling, a highly worrying fact. "Some say that the screaming's stopped," she warned, catching the former thief's arm when he went to turn away, "I'm serious, Jay, you should be prepared for the worst." Even though Uma herself wasn't particularly close to Quinn, she hoped the Isle princess was alright. While the villain kids could go to Auradon for medicine, there wasn't an awful lot of trust on the Isle side of the new world. If Quinn hadn't survived her grounding, there would be no one for the sick to turn to that they knew could and would help them.

"She's fine, Uma," Jay replied sharply, tearing his arm out of her grip, "She has to be." He didn't want to admit that his skin was crawling at the possibilities of what he could find once he reached the House of Cards. If he even made it all the way to Quinn's shop before he was torn apart by Card Soldiers. "Come on, let's keep going."

* * *

Evie smiled at Doug when she opened the door to let him in. Maybe her grin was a little too large, a little too forced, because her boyfriend gave her a strange look and a hesitant quirk of the lips in return. "Come on in," she said, "Let's sit, we need to talk." Doug's expression went from mildly concerned to somewhat panicked in the space of a second. The blue-haired princess wanted to reassure him, but she couldn't. "Look, I haven't been completely honest with you," she admitted, clasping his hand in both of hers, "I… I have feelings for someone else." The look on Doug's face broke her heart.

"How long?"

"…The whole time." Evie stood along with him as he shot out of his seat. "I really liked you, Doug, I swear," she vowed desperately, "But there was someone… on the Isle."

"It's Jay, isn't it?" Doug nodded to himself. "You may think I never saw, but I did," he said loudly, "All the sneaky looks and weird hugs and touchy stuff." Throwing his hands up, he tried to combat the feeling in his chest. Acceptance. He didn't want to accept it, he wanted her to love him. "I know Jay is like, somewhat good looking, but I thought you were happy with me," he exclaimed, getting closer and closer to hyperventilating, "At least enough not to cheat on me with a friend." He whirled around and, for the first time since his rant began, caught the repulsed look on Evie's face.

Taking deep breaths to calm the shudders going through her body, Evie shook her head. "I would never think of Jay like that," she defended, upset by Doug's accusations, "And I haven't cheated on you." Lie. Technically. "Jay belongs with someone else." Grabbing her ex's hands, Evie guided him to sit down again. No matter the outcome, she wanted to get everything she felt out in the open. "Maybe, if things had gone differently when I first came to Auradon, I would have fallen for you," she admitted, smiling softly at him, "But I was already in love with someone else and it turns out he loves me too." She tried to ignore that Harry was probably listening at the top of the stairs, needing him to hear what she had to say too. There could be no secrets between them, and Evie refused to let petty jealousy come between them simply because he had no idea how she felt about him. "He makes me happy, Doug," she promised, letting him go, "He makes me happy and I love him so much."

"I… it might take some time," Dopey's son admitted lowly, "But I'll try to be happy for you as long as whoever it is keeps you happy." Evie squealed and hugged him, thanking him profusely. To himself, Doug admitted that he had known that the blue-haired princess wouldn't be his forever, as much as he wanted her to be. It wouldn't be fair of him to expect her first _real_ boyfriend to be her last. So what if they weren't the next Ben and Mal? He was happy so long as they were still friends. Well, he would be, after some time to himself. "I should probably go," he said, pulling away from her, "This isn't really appropriate anymore."

Evie blushed furiously and nodded. "Just… don't be a stranger, okay?" He smiled weakly in return and left, allowing Harry to come downstairs again. The pirate wrapped his arms around her, letting her lean back against him, her head on his shoulder. "You think Jay will survive his attempt to see Quinn?" She felt Harry shake his head, his chuckles rumbling in his chest.

"Not without some damage," he replied happily, "I raised 'er right." Evie laughed, turning around in his arms to kiss him.

* * *

Had Jay been able to hear his pirate friend, he would've agreed with his words. The Card Soldiers were relentless. He had run into them on every path to the House of Cards he knew of. Uma had given up on helping him after their third failed attempt and suggested that he should do the same. But Jay refused. It was a game, an intricate game of chess where he was a queen who could move all over the board but could not take down any other pieces. After the seventh path, he conceded that Uma had been right. He was tired, not thinking clearly, and he was fairly certain the sun was about to rise. As he slumped against a wall, Jay realized another problem had come up. He had nowhere to go. Leaving the Isle wasn't an option, not when it was highly probable that he'd be blocked from coming back. He took a deep breath. It appeared Quinn wouldn't be the only demon he had to face.

The bell above the door jingled when he pushed it open. It was littered with junk, befitting of the shop's name. His father turned around ready to start haggling, only to pause when he laid eyes on Jay. Silence, stunned silence, stretched between them. Jay hadn't expected to ever go back, and it appeared to him like his father hadn't been expecting it either. Neither knew how to react to his sudden reappearance. Eventually, Jay sighed. "Dad."

"Son," Jafar replied, still not entirely convinced he wasn't talking to a mirage again, "Did you bring what I asked of you?" The Jay-like illusion shook his head. "Why not?" Honestly, how many times did he need to ask the boy to bring the lamp? One would think that after sixty-eight times it would stick. Shaking his head in disappointment, Jafar returned to switching out the price tags on his wares, knowing he could trick the Auradonians to pay far more than they needed to.

"You can't have the lamp, Dad," Jay said quietly, "It doesn't even work." Seeing the incredulous look his father sent him, he ventured deeper into the shop. There was no use in reasoning with the man, but maybe he could convince him to give up the chase. "Aladdin kinda set the Genie free after… you last saw him," he explained, narrowly avoiding mentioning how his father lost, "It's empty and useless now." His father paused, before nodding and continuing with his task. After a moment's hesitation, Jay picked up a cracked vase and joined him. For the first time since he was a boy, he was spending time with his dad. It would be hard, he knew that. But it was a start.

* * *

Those of the original VKs that remained in Auradon gasped as they were summoned to Belle and Beast's private chamber. The former king was laying beneath the covers, sickly pale and covered in a light sheen of sweat. Belle sat at his side, forehead wrinkled with worry, while Ben had one hand on her shoulder. "No one knows what's wrong with him," he revealed, voice rough, "Not even Fairy Godmother has seen this before." Mal stepped closer to him, fingers stroking gently over his jawline. "We thought it was just a fever at first but no medicines took," he continued, staring down at his father's unconscious form, "He wouldn't wake up this morning."

Mal instinctively reached for the ember. It had cured Audrey, after all. Before she could, Harry walked up to them carefully. His gaze flickered between Ben and Beast, silently asking for permission. Old habits die hard though, and Mal took a warning step forward. The pirate held his hands up to show he meant no harm and she blushed in embarrassment. It still felt a little strange, trusting him. Looking at her toes, she sidled up with Ben again and let Harry proceed.

The pirate held the back of his hand against Beast's forehead, nodding to himself as he did so. He then moved to gently lift the former king's upper lip, using the other hand to coax his jaw open. Running the pad of his thumb against Beast's canines, Harry winced and drew his hand away to see blood. Finally, he checked the man's pulse and ran a hand, fingers spread wide, up over his forearms. Satisfied with his diagnosis, he reached into his pocket to pull out the salve of oregano and yarrow he always carried around to apply to his bleeding thumb. Evie handed him a ribbon to keep it covered. "I know what this is," he admitted, letting the blue-haired girl secure the fabric with a neat bow, "It happens a lot on the Isle, 'specially te them who transform."

"What's happening to him?" Belle looked pleadingly at the pirate. Her husband had never been sick to the point of lost consciousness before.

Reaching out to guide her hands, Harry followed the same motions he had when he checked Beast's symptoms. "Feel 'is pulse racin'?" Belle nodded and he moved on to drag her hand over her husband's arm, watching her frown. "And how the hairs are rough?" She nodded again, looking up at him. He held up his wrapped thumb, gesturing with his other hand to Beast's mouth. "He's fightin' transformation," Harry said quietly, turning to Ben "Fever and heart rate means yer old man's tryin' te beat a sickness we islanders call morphilogus."

Evie slapped a hand to her mouth. "That's contagious, isn't it?"

"Aye," Harry confirmed, "S'not as bad for us none-transforming but…" His gaze flickered to Mal and Ben. Evie and Carlos' eyes widened at his silent statement. The king and queen-to-be had both been something other than human at some point. Harry knew it was likely that they were already infected. "It's going te be an epidemic," he muttered to his girlfriend, not willing to cause panic just yet, "There's only one cure."

Evie winced, hoping to whoever was listening that Jay had gotten past Quinn's defenses.


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter gets a little darker, and we finally get some insight into Quinn and who she really is. Happy reading!**

* * *

Whatever the former thief had expected to find when he woke up, it wasn't his father leaning over him with a displeased look on his face.

"There are people here," Jafar muttered, annoyed, "They are refusing to buy anything but when I try to shove them out they insist that they need to see you." Rising to his full height, the sorcerer crossed his arms in irritation. "Go, send them away."

Jay frowned. He knew that Evie probably suspected where he was, Harry too, but he was fairly certain they wouldn't be bothering him. Yet, when he walked out into the shop, all of his friends stood awkwardly crammed together, trying not to knock over anything. "What are you guys doing here?" They all began to speak at once, shoving at each other to get to him first. He held up his hands to stop them and gestured for them to turn around and walk out of the shop. Once they were outside, Jay raised his eyebrows at them. "So, again, what are you guys doing here?"

"How did it go with Quinn?"

There was something about Carlos' voice that set Jay on edge. "It didn't," he said suspiciously, studying his friends carefully, "What's going on?" The whole group exuded some strange tension that he didn't understand and he realized that he must have missed something big. He wondered if they had argued, or of something had gone wrong with the villains or VKs since the barrier came down. But there was some kind of sadness among them too, one he couldn't pin on just one of his friends. "Come on," he exclaimed when no one spoke up, "What happened?"

"We need 'er help," Harry muttered, taking both hat and bandana off to run a hand through his hair, "There's been an outbreak of morphilogus and yer former king's been affected." The pirate watched as his friend shook his head in denial. Clearly, something had gone terribly wrong in his pursuit to gain Quinn's forgiveness. "Did ye see 'er?"

"No," Jay bit out, dragging a hand over his face, "All paths in and out of the House of Cards are blocked, even the tunnel from the shop." Of course, he knew what morphilogus was. His father had been affected by the sickness years earlier, before Jay had even met Mal. He wondered if there had been a time when his father had been willing to accept Quinn's help, a time before his rivalry with Queen of Hearts. "So what do we do?"

Mal spoke up, gazing in the direction of the House of Cards. "We go there and demand that she speak with us." She turned to her friends, a determined look on her face. There would be no stopping her from helping her father-in-law, nor would she give up the chance to meet her sister for the first time. "We're her king and queen, she has to listen, right?" But Evie, Harry, and Uma all looked doubtful at the fact.

"Actually, there's been talk on the Isle about electing a leader specifically for us," Uma admitted, looking sheepishly at her hands, "I'm in the running but Quinn's miles ahead of me with the people." She sighed, scuffing her boot against the ground. Admitting to being weak didn't sit well with her in the least. "They trust her more than they'll ever trust me," she muttered, "Besides, if you want to keep being seen as good, making demands with the resident medic won't exactly make the right impression."

"Uma's right."

* * *

The group spun around at the new voice. CJ Hook rolled her eyes at them. "Hey brother," she greeted, tipping her hat to Harry who nodded back, "Quinn's been informed of yer presence and asks to speak with yer precious king Benny." As a whole, they all shared a look and started walking. With a vicious little smirk, CJ held up a hand to stop them. "Ah-ah, _only_ ickle Benny-Boo has been requested," she said sharply, "She doesn't trust ye not te use force."

"We won't be sendin' 'im in alone, CJ," Harry replied, exasperated, "Let 'im bring one more person." Quinn would accept it, expect it even, he knew that.

While Harry tried to negotiate with his sister about his pseudo-sister, Ben's mind was hard at work. He tried to recall everything he had heard about Queen of Hearts' daughter. If Quinn was anything like her mother, she would value good players. Like her father, she made deals and kept them so long as the other party did the same. "I'll play her for it," he interrupted, seeing how everyone froze at his words, "Let us all go and I'll play any game she wants."

"And when she wins?"

Ben swallowed thickly. "If she wins, I will agree to whatever terms she has to speak with me," he vowed, unable to ignore the panic in the eyes that watched him, "If I win, she will speak to me on my conditions." CJ smirked and in that moment he knew. He'd been trapped. Too late, he remembered how Carlos had mentioned that if one couldn't keep a deal with Quinn, things rarely ended well. Nevertheless, the group followed the pirate girl as she led them over the Isle. The king hadn't counted on how imposing the House of Cards. The black and white marble gleamed in the sunlight, yet there was a dark aura around it. They passed through the gates, hearing faint screaming as they did.

"I thought you said the screaming stopped," Jay hissed as he caught up to Uma, "That doesn't sound like it stopped."

"I said _some_ were talking about how it stopped," she bit back, "Not my fault you forgot that most people don't actually get close enough to know for sure."

* * *

The massive double doors were pulled open by a couple of twos, letting the ragtag group inside. Quinn was waiting for them in the foyer, gaze as cold as her mother's cell. "I see you kept up your end," she commented idly, reaching out to give CJ a vial, "Baby's Nightmare, as promised." The blonde pirate accepted the vial and tipped her hat before waltzing out the doors, leaving the mice in their traps with the hungriest cat on the Isle. Observing the group, Quinn purposely ignored her old friends. She settled her gaze on Ben. "So you agreed to play a game, then," she murmured, running a slender finger along the side of his face, "Wonderful." A hand slapped hers away from Ben and Quinn's eyes snapped to the purple-haired queen-to-be. "Sister," she greeted, "I sincerely wish we could have met during different circumstances." Turning on her heel, the red-haired princess led her trapped visitors through the halls, into the throne room. The thrones had been moved, placed in the middle of the room. Between them, a black and gold chess set was put up.

"Please, don't do this," Evie pleaded, reaching out to touch her friend, "People are dying."

"You have no voice within these halls," Quinn snapped, "The deal was to play for the right to control our negotiations, and you people have yet to uphold your end." She gracefully sunk into one of the thrones, waiting for Ben to do the same. The message was clear. Only they carried significance. Only they mattered until the game was over. "Gold begins," she said quietly, voice still steely, "Your Majesty, if you'd do the honor."

Harry watched as the game began. No one had ever beaten Quinn in chess before. Not even Hades, as far as the pirate was aware. Again, his loyalties battled. He wanted for the people affected by morphilogus to survive, of course he did. But he wanted for Quinn to finally get her vengeance. She had been hurt and betrayed so many times because of Auradon. He himself had fallen for the charms of the kingdom. Perhaps, in winning against Ben, she would finally be able to let go of her grudges.

Clutching at Harry's hand to keep from biting her nails, Evie chewed on her bottom lip. The pieces were moving too fast, giving her no time to interpret the move or what it meant. Quinn was undefeated and the lives of countless people rested on a single check mate. Pieces were lifted from the board and put aside. There were too few pieces left. She looked away.

Jaws dropped and hearts stopped when a small smile spread over Quinn's lips as Ben made his last move. "Well, Your Majesty, I do believe that's check mate," she said, rising as gracefully as she had sat to stretch out a hand for him to shake, "Congratulations." She snapped her fingers and a ten came over to remove the chessboard. Before all pieces were removed, Quinn snatched a gold king away, twirling it between her fingers before holding it out to Ben. "I honor my agreements, Your Majesty," she reassured when he hesitated to take it, "You wanted to talk to me and this, well, I suppose it's a token of goodwill." She gestured for him to sit again. "Go ahead, state what you desire," she invited, "We'll see what I'll want in return."

"My people are dying," Ben told her, watching her nod thoughtfully, "I've been told you have the cure." He didn't like the look on her face. The way Harry and Uma shifted did nothing to ease his nerves either. The red-haired woman watched him carefully and he fidgeted under her gaze, the weight of her significance to the people he wanted to govern settling heavily on his shoulders. Ben was all too aware that if Quinn didn't endorse him and Mal, there would be an uprising. "I'll do anything," he promised, "No price is too high for my people."

* * *

The laugh that floats over Quinn's lips is smooth and mirthless. "Where was that mentality when your people were starving," she asked cooly, slouching back in her seat, "Where were you just a year ago when I had to summon Dr. Facilier to guide the soul of a boy who died because the conditions we live in are so far below subpar that we wouldn't find the scale even if we searched in Tartarus?" She stood, startling her visitors as she slammed her hands on the table between herself and the king. "Where were you when my mother threatened to cut my head off and mount it on the wall?" Harry moved toward her, dragging her into his arms but Quinn shrugged him off. She needed to be angry, needed to get her point across. "Barrier or no, we have always been _your_ people," she hissed, pointing an accusatory finger at Ben, "_Your_ people, fed scraps and sickness." Tears stung in her eyes. "You ask me to help you," she whispered, choking on her emotions, "Why would I help when you saved exactly four of us and then forgot we existed?"

Her accusations were sharp like knives and her aim was true, each word cutting deeper and deeper into Ben. He had seen the lives the people on the Isle led for himself. Yet, all he'd done was pick four more people. He hadn't done anything to improve their lives, given them no reason to be anything other than what they were raised to be. Shame settled on his shoulders, heavy and painful. "I… I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Quinn scoffed, sneering at him. "Because an apology will make up for _years_ of abuse."

"Quinn!"

The red-haired princess rounded on Evie so quickly she reeled back. "Silence," she said, voice clear and commanding, "This is between the Isle and the king." Her hard gaze swept over the people she had once called friends. "I'll deal with _you_ later." Quinn turned back to Ben, crossing her arms as she looked down her nose at him. He looked heartbroken and stunned, clearly affected by her words. "You can't deny that sending us your moldy and broken leftovers was abuse," she said lowly, sinking into her throne again, "So I ask again, why would I help when you forgot we even existed?" A long silence followed, and while Quinn could be ruthless, she knew that she had put Ben on the spot and that he needed time to come up with a proposal. Time he would spend alone. "Eight of Clubs, show His Majesty to the bedchambers in the east wing and lock the doors behind him," she ordered, watching as the others began to struggle against their captors, "I have other matters to attend to."

Evie watched helplessly as Ben was dragged out of the room. Mal was muttering spell after spell, yet nothing happened. "Quinn, please."

"What, Eves," the red-haired princess asked, eyes flashing with hurt, "What could you possibly want after three years of silence?" With the political part done for the day, she finally let her tears fall free. Years. It had been years since she last spoke to the girl she'd thought was her best friend. The gap between them was wide, barely held together by the tether known as Harry Hook. They were worlds apart, the values they'd once shared gone. "I fully intend to release him," she promised, meeting Mal's eyes, "But if he is going to be king of the Isle, he needs to figure out how to help the people on his own."

Mal turned to Harry and Uma. "You can't possibly be okay with this," she exclaimed, "Come on, talk to her." But they said nothing. No one did. It hit Mal that they _agreed_ with Quinn. Three years earlier, she probably would've agreed too, but that… She swallowed thickly. While the method wasn't what Mal had hoped it would be, it did make sense. There would be days when she wouldn't be able to help Ben make a decision about the Isle, and when those days came he needed to understand what the people, his people, needed. She already thought of the villains and their children as her people. It wasn't until then, in Quinn's throne room, that Mal realized that Ben didn't. "Okay," she said, letting out a breath to release the tension in her body, "How will we know when—"

"Cheshire will come for you," Quinn replied, wrapping her arms around herself, "Until then, I think it'll be for the best if you left." The Card Soldiers released them and she heard their steps fade away as they left the House of Cards. All except one.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12! Who would've thought? Happy reading!**

* * *

Jay stared at Quinn's back, unable to leave. Not when he hadn't been that close to her in years. He wanted to do something, something to relieve the weight she carried, the responsibility she felt. Most of all, he wanted to tell her his side, wanted her to know that while she might never forgive him, he would never stop loving her. "Quinn—"

"You've lost the right to speak to me," she interrupted, "You lost it when you broke your promise and left me here, in _her_ care." She refused to look at him. If she did and saw the feelings on his face that were so clearly audible in his voice, she would do something stupid. Forgive him. But betrayal was something she couldn't forgive. Not when _he_ had been the one to convince her to give him a chance he just threw away. "You promised me that I was worth the effort, that you would get me out of here and that I was the only one for you." Her hands were shaking and Quinn clenched them so hard she was certain she'd drawn blood. There was a dull thud behind her but she couldn't turn, wouldn't succumb to temptation. "Yet, you stopped fighting, you didn't rescue me and you found someone else."

"That's not—"

"You could've saved me that day when you watched me sing," she whispered, "You could've opened the door and swept me away, but I guess Auradon and what the goody-two-shoes thought of you mattered more." She turned her head, just enough to see him without really _seeing_ him. He was on his knees, arms limp at his side. At her mercy, willing to accept whatever punishment she doled out. Clenching her fists harder, she tried to replace the tingling urge to either slap him or embrace him with the sensation of blood slicking her palms. "I saw you, in my mirror," she revealed, "I saw you and I _hoped_ for the first time in my life." Quinn realized that she couldn't be in the same room as him anymore. Not without either forgiving him or alienating him. She stormed out of the room through a hidden door, breathing hard as it slammed shut behind her and engulfed her in darkness.

* * *

It took several, long minutes before Jay stood up. He was at war with himself, three distinct options taunting him. He could go after Quinn, try to explain himself and maybe earn at least a chance at forgiveness. Or he could take advantage of her absence and try to free Ben, which would make the first option significantly more difficult. Or he could leave the House of Cards, find his friends and make a plan to break out Ben together. Which would make both previous options difficult. No matter how he twisted it, there were hurdles caused by Ben's incarceration that would push her further away. He didn't want it to look like he was trying to get back in her good graces for any other reason than his feelings for her.

Mal accosted Jay the moment he caught up to them. "There you are," she exclaimed, dragging him with her, "Now that you're here we can finally—"

"No."

The purple-haired girl frowned at him. "What," she asked, unable to believe what she was hearing, "Ben's your friend, I thought you would help rescue him." To her immense shock, Evie and Harry shook their heads too.

"I know you want to save Ben," Evie said weakly, "But the three of us want Quinn to forgive us." She leaned against Harry, Quinn's face as she silenced them still burned into her mind. "We can't help you and ask her to forgive us at the same time," she continued, "It will look like we're trying to soften her up to take advantage and… that's not right."

"It's not right that she's holding Ben captive either."

"It's what she does, Mali."

Mal turned around to face her father as he approached them. "What are you talking about?"

Hades sighed heavily and gestured for the group to follow him. He led them to his lair, slumping into his chair and gesturing for Mal to take a seat on the armrest. "You are all here," he pointed out, rubbing his temples, "Which means she took great care not to involve you." It was safe to say he imagined the conflict between his daughters to be a little less… world encompassing. No matter how little he wanted to show favoritism, there was no denying that Quinn was more cunning and careful than Mal. Time in Auradon had softened Mal, made her believe that everything could be fixed with the twirl of a wand. Quinn, hardened by years with her mother and the betrayal of her friends, knew that she'd need to take things into her own hands. "She could've used you against him, Mali," he reminded her as gently as he could, "Any of you."

"So what, I'm supposed to be grateful that my fiancé is locked up and I'm not?" Old Mal would've been. New Mal was enraged by the mere suggestion. "That is a very Isle way of thinking, you know."

"She chose to show mercy by bargaining his freedom rather than yours," Hades remarked, frustrated, "You have to trust me on this, Mali, your sister knows what she's doing." He had taught her to, after all, and while his attention might've made Mal softer, Quinn's had done the same to him. The red-haired spitfire had made him care for both his daughters. Hells, when she'd found out about Mal she'd yelled at him for hours about not seeking the half-pixie out. "Don't make a deal you can't keep," he muttered, "If she promised to release him she will, she is disgustingly honest like that." That was one major difference between Hades and Quinn. Hades put in loopholes that worked in his advantage. Quinn was candid and earned the Isle's trust.

Evie nodded. "We have to trust that Quinn wants what best for the Isle more than she wants revenge on us," she said quietly, "She's changed but not so much that she'll give up a fundamental goal of hers."

* * *

No matter how much Evie and Hades tried to convince her, Mal couldn't believe them. She wasn't blind, she had seen the anger in the cool facade Quinn put up. Maybe she recognized it simply because she herself once had been the same. It was that recognition and doubt that had Mal sneaking into the House of Cards that night. The halls were dimly lit by sconces on the walls and moonlight through the windows. It had been difficult to sneak past the Card Soldiers, particularly since something stopped her magic from working. But she made it inside. She was fairly certain she was lost, but she was inside. Just as she was about to give up, she heard voices. Following the sound, she wound up peeking through the crack in a doorway.

"…never thought about it that way."

Sighing heavily, Quinn inclined her head in acknowledgment. "I always believed you'd be a better king than your father," she admitted, leaning back in her chair as she observed Ben, "But I also knew that you, like him, would forget that even though we were prisoners, we're people, with families and lives beyond our schemes and adversaries." As much as it pained her to admit it, Quinn could see why her sister liked him so much. He listened and didn't seem to be afraid of her. If anything, he understood her motivations.

"I guess I did forget," Ben agreed, frowning deeply, "I learned from Mal and the others what the Isle was like and I didn't do anything about it." He looked down at the ripped piece of fabric he'd been given to write his proposal on before looking back up at Quinn. "I hope that I can make it right," he said quietly, "Villains or not, no one deserves to live like the people on the Isle." Considering his options, he wrote down his first decree. "From here on out, Auradon _will_ provide materials to build proper housing for the people of the Isle." He hesitated for a moment, before signing his name at the bottom of the fabric, as a way to assure Quinn that he would be keeping his word. "Can I ask you something?" Blue eyes watched him curiously. "What do you think the people would think about starting a housing project in Auradon?"

Quinn bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "The Isle is home," she said finally, "Maybe after a few years, or even when your kids are our age." She gestured for him to stand and led him over to the window, gesturing down to the bustling streets filled with islanders and Auradonians alike. "This, this is how we learned to live," she explained, pointing to a vendor who accepted a bracelet from Audrey in exchange for an intricate, silver mirror, "Trading, creating, surviving." Stealing, lying, cheating.

"What about food?"

"I'll ask Seven of Diamonds to bring something up."

"No," Ben declined with a chuckle, "What about food on the Isle, what is it like?"

From her spot in the doorway, Mal saw her sister deflate. She understood why. Quinn's shop and Ursula's restaurant were the only places to get even remotely fresh products. The pirates fished for the Chip Shoppe and Quinn made all her potions using homegrown ingredients. Frollo's Creperie and the Slop Shop… Mal shuddered. Apparently, Ben realized what Quinn's silence meant and scribbled something down.

Reading over Ben's shoulder, Quinn smiled. He caught on quick. "What about medicine?" It wasn't very likely that the people of the Isle would trust anyone other than their resident healer for a long time. Some of them had been born with her help. It was her field and depending on how Ben saw fit to dole out medicine, she would be out of a job.

"Actually, I was hoping that you'd be open to discussion," Ben said, setting the quill down, "You have cures to diseases we've never heard of, we have access to ingredients that could create even more." He recognized that, as political as their discussions had been, the talk of medicine was where the real negotiations began. His father and all the others who had been affected by morphilogus needed her cure. One he doubted she'd be willing to simply share with him. "In exchange for the morphilogus cure, made and administrated by your hand," he began, "Auradon offers any ingredients you want." While he didn't want to make the whole deal without Mal, he knew that Quinn wasn't likely to budge without another incentive. "And, if you're agreeable, there will be a position as head healer with your name on it." Her eyes snapped to his, shock clearly visible on her face. Ben held his hand out for her to shake. "You have kept the people on the Isle alive without any of the medical aids we have in Auradon," he explained, "They trust you and I do too."

Clamping a hand over her own mouth to contain her gasp, Mal backed away from the door when she saw Quinn shake Ben's outstretched hand, sealing the deal. It was so perfectly Auradon of him that she was equally proud and exasperated. He had agreed to fix everything, which was great. But he had also agreed to let Quinn, her sister, be the one to do check-ups and deliver the royal heir when the time came. Without consulting her, his _fiancée_, who didn't even know her sister beyond what little she had seen and heard. While Mal wanted to stay and find out more, she knew that she would get caught if she did. She left the House of Cards, still trying to wrap her head around what she'd witnessed.

* * *

"You kept up your end of the deal," Quinn said, still a little stunned, "And I'll keep mine." She walked over to open the door fully, smiling wryly at Ben. "You're free to go, Your Majesty." He started to head for the opening, only to close the door as he did so. Quinn eyed him skeptically. "I'm sure your entourage is worried," she commented, only half-joking, "You should go to them, I'll need some time to brew the cure."

Ben sat back down in the desk chair, gesturing for her to sit in the chair opposite him. "You are, as of that handshake, one of my people," he pointed out, smiling softly, "I heard that things are… difficult between you and my friends and as king it's my job to resolve your issues." Quinn scoffed and stood up, moving to leave the room. Before she could get far, Ben caught her wrist and turned her around. "Tell me," he urged kindly, "I promise to be impartial."

"Evie and I were best friends," Quinn reluctantly divulged, cursing how disarmingly earnest he was being, "We grew up together." Sighing, she leaned against the desk, burying her face in her hands. Memories floated to the surface, ones long suppressed in an attempt to move on. "When they left… of the two of them, I always thought she'd fight hardest to get back to me." Tears welled, unbidden and highly unappreciated. "Jay… I never knew what love was," she whispered, "But I know that whatever I felt for him, I wouldn't feel for anyone else, ever." Kisses, soft and tender, whispers of a lullaby sung in peaceful moments echoed in her head. _She missed him_. It wasn't an epiphany, she'd been fully aware of the fact that she missed him. That didn't mean she _wanted _to miss him. She didn't _want_ to wake up and realize that she'd been dreaming about him. "Harry moved on," Quinn continued, "I can't fault him for that, but I wish he'd said goodbye."

Clearing his throat, Ben placed a hand on her arm in comfort. "When Mal left for the Isle I was heartbroken," he told her quietly, "I knew it was my fault in a lot of ways but I still felt hurt that she didn't try to talk to me." He still remembered the sinking feeling in his gut when Evie told him that Mal had gone to the Isle. "I knew she hadn't done it to hurt me, though." Quinn rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated look, to which he held his hands up in defense. He gently guided her back into her seat. "I'm not asking you to forgive them, you don't have to," he assured, smiling hesitantly at her, "But before you decide to resent them forever, you should know that they do care about you."


	13. Chapter 13

Evie shrieked in surprise when a grin appeared out of nowhere. Her exclamation startled the rest of the group out of their sleep, Hades falling gracelessly out of his chair. The blue-haired fashion designer glared at Cheshire as the cat fully materialized. "Cheshire," she admonished, "Remember how we talked about warnings?"

"Warnings doesn't belong here nor there nor up or down," the cat replied, "I'll have you know that cards fall down very easily and that's why you should always build houses with them."

They all stared at the floating cat, perplexed. Shaking her head, Mal waved him off. "Quinn said she would send Cheshire when we could get Ben, remember?" She couldn't for the life of her figure out why it had taken so long. She had seen Ben and Quinn shake hands, he should've been back with them hours earlier.

* * *

The air was chilly as they stepped out of Hades' cave, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. It was still strange, Jay thought, to see sunlight on the Isle. The perpetual cloud that had hung over them during their childhood had blocked it out, after all, and seeing its rays create shadows where golden light couldn't reach made the Isle seem strangely beautiful. Ahead of him, Harry wrapped an arm around a shivering Evie, who smiled gratefully at him. Not for the first time, Jay found himself wistfully hoping that Quinn would let him be that for her again. A safe source of warmth and love.

He was stunned to see her smiling with Ben when they reached the House of Cards gates. Even more so when Ben bowed courteously and received a curtsy in return. Clearly, Ben's stay with the blood-haired princess hadn't been an unpleasant one, contrary to all of their expectations. Quinn's gaze swept over the group, skipping over Jay, and landed on Harry. After several tense moments, the pirate seemed to read something in her eyes that the others missed and strode up to wrap his arms tightly around her.

"I love 'er," he whispered, holding Quinn tight, "She's… everything." Harry pulled away from her, ocean meeting ice. "He loves ye," he promised lowly, ensuring that no one could hear the exchange, "Give 'im a chance." For the briefest of moments, Quinn's eyes flickered to Jay, before she looked back up at Harry. Rather than replying, she sighed heavily and stepped back.

"The cure should be enough," she said, turning to Ben, "No more than one drop, Your Majesty, no matter how tempted you are to use more." The king nodded seriously, sliding the vial into his pocket. While he had asked her to administer the cure herself, she couldn't leave the Isle. If the people in Auradon had been affected, _Quinn's Quid Pro Quo _wasn't likely to be slow in business either. She needed to stay and help the islanders, make sure that there was no one left to spread the disease. Facing Harry, Quinn pushed a lock behind her ear. "Could you make sure that all VKs and villains report to my shop," she asked quietly, "They'll need the cure too, even if they aren't directly affected." He nodded, kissing her forehead and Evie's cheek before leaving.

Ben turned to his friends. "Maybe we should start with you guys," he said, glancing at Quinn for confirmation, "Everyone's a carrier, right?" His newfound head healer nodded, wrapping her arms around herself. Under her careful scrutiny, Ben used the dropper in the vial to place a single drop under each of his friends' tongues, like she'd shown him when she gave him his dose. "We'll see you in a few days," he continued, capping the vial again as he faced her, "You'll check everyone who had the symptoms and meet your new colleagues."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," Quinn replied with a slight nod, "Now you should get going before it's too late." She snapped her fingers, summoning the entire Suit of Clubs. "See to it that His Majesty and his entourage make it safely to the other side," she ordered, "When you're done, I expect you to take care of my gardens until I return from my shop." They saluted her and marched alongside Ben and the others as they left the Isle. Looking after them for a long while, Quinn shook herself in an attempt to forget what it felt like to have Jay's eyes on her.

* * *

Several days later, Harry escorted Quinn to Auradon. Gil was happily skipping along behind them, excited to see his Auradonian friends. He'd made an astonishing amount of them, shocking all of his pirate friends. Even Quinn, wary as she was, had been disarmed by his genuine kindness. Harry kept glancing at his beloved friend as they walked, taking in her expressions as she laid eyes on Auradon for the first time in her life. He noticed how she carefully steered away from food that was offered and was carefully polite whenever someone stopped to thank her for her aid in the morphilogus outbreak. "Ye're allowed te enjoy yeself," he whispered to her when she delicately turned down an offer for tea as they waited for Ben to arrive, "They ain't enemies anymore." Looking up, he realized what had her so tense. Ally, daughter of Alice, was crossing the courtyard, talking animatedly with Aziz, son of Aladdin and Jasmine. The blonde looked up and saw them and Harry could tell that she knew who she was seeing. After all, no matter the efforts Quinn took to avoid being associated with the woman, there was no denying that Quinn was Queen of Hearts' daughter. Several strained moments passed before Ally tore her gaze away and hurried after Aziz.

Though he was curious, Ben didn't comment on the way Quinn's hands trembled when he arrived. Harry had a strange look on his face, both of them looking in the direction of the library. "Are you ready," he asked instead, "They have a lot of questions but if you feel like it's too much, I'll be there to hold them off." He glanced at Harry, eliciting a weak laugh from the Isle medic. Well, if Ben couldn't contain them, the pirate's presence certainly would. Since telling his medical staff that he had found a head healer, the king had been bombarded with questions. Who was it, what medical experience did they have, did they find the cure that healed the king, and so on. He was aware that the introductions would get… rocky, and had secured a secret weapon.

* * *

Jaws dropped when Ben opened the doors to the main conference room at the Auradon Hospital. Fairy Godmother was there, of course, as well as Mama Odie, Merlin, and Geppetto. All of them stared incredulously at their king as he led Quinn and Harry into the room. The pirate didn't take his eyes off the girl as she lowered herself into a chair, declining a seat of his own. It made Ben a smidgen envious to see how Quinn let Harry hover, let him take a place that allowed him to sweep her away at the slightest sign of trouble. He sometimes wished Mal would let him be as protective as he sometimes felt like being. When she declined his help, he sometimes felt like she didn't trust him to keep her safe. He shook his head to clear it of unreasonable thoughts and focused on the task at hand. "Quinn, these are the other healers in Auradon," he introduced, sitting down beside her, "Guys, this is Quinn, daughter of the Queen of Hearts."

"But… she's just a girl," Fairy Godmother said delicately, glancing worriedly at Ben, "Surely she is far too inexperienced to be a head healer?"

A pale hand rose into the air, halting Harry in the middle of a snarl. "I assure you, madam," Quinn replied cooly," That while I may not have your… _aged_ wisdom, my business has me working with more sick and wounded than you have in a lifetime." Even Ben's lips quirked at the appalled look on Fairy Godmother's face at the quip. Mama Odie chortled indelicately, grinning at Quinn, who gave a hesitant smile in return.

"I like this one," she pointed out, her snake Juju directing her finger in the right direction as she pointed at Quinn, "She's funny."

A throat cleared in the doorway and Ben lit up. "Evie, I'm glad you could be here," he greeted happily, "Please, have a seat." With a little help from Harry, the king had convinced Evie to be present as an ambassador for the Isle. As someone who knew Quinn and her medicinal magics, Evie was well-suited to convince the other healers to accept the redhead's place among them. Secretly, Ben hoped that Evie's support would at least prompt Quinn to talk to her. He turned back to Fairy Godmother. "Quinn has been single-handedly responsible for the health of everyone on the Isle," he announced, seeing in the corner of his eye how Evie hesitantly smiled at Quinn as she took the seat beside her, "It was thanks to her that we could cure those who were affected by morphilogus."

"You did that?" Merlin studied the girl, who met his gaze steadily. There were many outward similarities between her and her mother, a woman Merlin would happily forget existed. "How does a girl from the Isle, with no resources or experience, create a cure for such a disease?" The pirate behind her reacted immediately, only to once again be silenced by the red-haired girl. Evie stared at him in disbelief and Ben gave him an exasperated look. The respect that _Quinn_ was given was not lost on Merlin at all. His gaze turned to Evie. "She is important, I take it?" The blue-haired Isle-girl nodded, glancing at Ben and their visitor before she spoke.

"Half the Isle would be dead without her," Evie said seriously, "I can't remember a time before Quinn became the go-to for medical help, I don't think anyone of us does." Sitting a little straighter, she gave a dazzling smile to the adults, pulling a piece of paper out of her bag and placing it on the table in front of her. "This is a list of Quinn's accomplishments in the last five years," she said, sliding it over to Geppetto, "She's helped with births, pains, and several severe diseases." As accomplished as Evie felt seeing the stunned and admiring looks on the adults' faces, it was nothing compared to how she felt when she glanced at Quinn and found her old friend with the slightest of smiles on her lips. "I would honestly trust her over any of you," Evie continued, "I've seen her work, and she always ensures that her patients are fully recovered."

Geppetto nodded absently, looking at Quinn. "So, how did you do it?"

"I grow herbs in my personal gardens," she replied, "I spent a lot of time locked in a tower and reading was one of the few things I was allowed to do." Shaking the image of her mother's furious gaze out of her head before it could fully form, Quinn smiled wryly. "I applied what I learned to make medicine," she explained, "And the Horned King always had a cauldron ready for me when mine rusted beyond repair." Before she could fully process what was happening, she was stuck in an onslaught of questions. Looking helplessly at Harry, Quinn shrank back in her seat. The pirate glared at the nosy healers, who quieted immediately.

Mama Odie spoke up again. "Ya don't happen to have a cure for blindness, do ya?"

"I'm afraid not," Quinn replied, "But I've often admired the blind." She tossed a vial in the woman's direction, the pet snake catching it to give to Mama Odie. The voodoo priestess uncorked it and sniffed its contents. "The removal of one sense usually forces the strengthening of the others," she continued, watching as realization flitted over the woman's face, "Which makes you a hell of a lot better at sniffing out ingredients."

Cackling happily, Mama Odie pocketed the vial. "How'd ya know I ain't sleepin' well?" At the silence, she rolled her unseeing eyes. "Girlie's given me a real good sleep serum, with lavender and chamomile and peppermint," she told them gleefully, reaching out to grab Juju's head, "I need to inhale this stuff as steam."

"I noticed how your breathing is labored," Quinn explained, smiling at the old lady, "I imagine it's difficult to sleep when you can't breathe properly."

Ben was pleased with how the meeting was going. He'd seen the slight interactions between Quinn and Evie, and it seemed his healers were willing to learn from the Isle-girl. He chuckled as Mama Odie spoke animatedly with her snake about the spa night she would indulge in, the large animal catching the vial when the voodoo priestess missed the table. "I think that's enough for today," he interrupted, standing, "We could all do with some air."

* * *

Swallowing thickly in an attempt to suppress her nerves, Evie turned to Quinn. "If… if you're okay with it I would love to give you a tour of Auradon," she offered, a sheepish smile on her face, "I know that we have things to work out and—"

"Okay."

Tears welled in Evie's eyes. It was just one word but it was spoken without any hint of anger or malice. Her grin was watery and wide and genuine and when Quinn gave her one in return, the blue-haired fashion designer let the tears fall freely as she hugged her friend. It didn't take long for Quinn's arms to wrap around her and Evie sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry," she hiccuped, ignoring the bewildered Harry beside them, "I should've tried harder, I should've talked to Ben about you and what you can do and I—"

"I'm sorry too."

Mouth agape, Harry was certain that he'd somehow waltzed into an alternate universe. In all the years that he'd known Quinn, he could count on one hand the number of times she had apologized to someone. Scratch that, he didn't need a hand. It hadn't happened before. He was happy for them, of course. With their relationship on the mend, he wouldn't have to divide his time between them. It was just strange to hear words of apology from his childhood friend.

"I'm actually supposed to check on the people who were affected by morphilogus," Quinn said quietly once Evie pulled away, "Could you show me where they are?"

Evie immediately jumped into action. "Of course," she said, voice still a little scratchy, "Follow me." She led Harry and Quinn through the halls of the hospital, to the wing where the morphilogus patients were recovering.

Just as they turned a corner, Quinn walked right into someone, falling to the floor before Harry could catch her. There were several gasps and worried exclamations. Regaining her senses, Quinn accepted the hand that was held out to her, allowing it's owner to pull her back up on her feet. Stood at her full height once again, she looked up into hazel eyes.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going," the strange boy said kindly, "What's your name?"

"I'm Quinn, Princess of Hearts."

"Nice to meet you, Quinn," he greeted, "I'm Riley Radcliffe."


	14. Chapter 14

**I can now confirm that this story will be ending soon. There probably won't be more than sixteen or seventeen chapters but, hey, that's still a new record for me. Happy reading!**

* * *

Harry turned Quinn around before she could reply, checking her up and down for injuries. When he caught the amused look she was giving him, he took a step back, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. He knew, logically, that she was fine. That didn't mean he wasn't worried about her. He wanted her to enjoy her stay in Auradon and being knocked over by strangers hardly counted as pleasant. Quinn patted his cheek, gently moving him toward Evie. Getting the hint, the pirate backed off to watch her handle the interaction on her own.

"Please excuse my brother," Quinn said politely, "It's nice to meet you too, Riley." She looked past him, at a sign that said _Morphilogus Ward_ and frowned at him. "Were you affected by the disease," she asked, scanning him for signs of fatigue, "They don't tell you to rest for no reason, you know." As she surveyed him for anything that could be a result of ignoring his bedrest, Quinn took the chance to take in his appearance. Sandy blond hair complimented lightly tanned skin, the presence of lean muscles apparent as she lifted his arm to check his pulse. He was, she realized with a start, attractive.

Riley chuckled. "Nah, a friend of mine's visiting his parents and I thought I'd tag along," he told her, grinning as she eyed him critically anyway, "You're new 'round here, right?" Blood-colored waves slipped over her shoulders as she nodded, giving him a suspicious look. He held his hands up in defense. "I just thought you might want a guide to show you around."

"Actually—"

Jabbing an elbow into Harry's ribs, Evie smiled widely. "You're absolutely right, Riley," she said happily, ignoring both of her companions as they looked at her weirdly, "Quinn's never been to Auradon, you know, villain kid and all." She lightly shoved her oldest friend in Riley's direction before taking Harry's hand as she started to tug him away. "I was going to give her a tour, but I just remembered that I have a couple of dresses to deliver," she fibbed smoothly, "Could you show her around after she's done the check-ups?" She took off before Quinn could protest or Riley could give a reply, dragging Harry along with her.

* * *

"What're ye doing," the pirate asked sharply when Evie finally slowed down, "I thought ye wanted Quinn and Jay te—"

"Of course I do," Evie replied, hands on her hips, "But in case you missed it, Jay's not exactly made an effort to talk to her since we went to negotiate with her and at this rate, she'll fall out of love with him before he makes a move."

"What makes ye think she loves 'im?"

"She's still angry," she explained with a sad quirk of her lips, "She wouldn't be angry if she didn't feel anything."

* * *

Outside the Morphilogus Ward, Quinn shook her head in amused bemusement. "I have weird friends," she said lightly, making Riley laugh, "But it _does_ appear as though my tour guide has abandoned me…" The sentence was left hanging as she gave the blond a coy smile. He laughed again and opened the doors for her.

"Then allow me, my lady, to take over the sacred duty of showing you around Auradon," he said courteously, bowing deeply, "It would be the greatest of honors if you permitted me even a second of your delightful company." The blood-haired girl laughed, curtsying playfully as she passed him. Riley followed her into the large room filled with beds between crisp, white dividers. Two neat rows of beds stood along the walls and he followed her to the first one on the right. "Quinn, this is Nathan," he introduced, "Both his parents were badly affected."

Quinn smiled carefully to the family before looking at the clipboard laying on the table between them. She nodded as she read their symptoms, making note of what to look for. She turned her gaze to Naveen. "Would you mind giving me your arm?" At Riley's smile of encouragement, the king held his arm out for her. The whole ward was silent, everyone watching her as she checked his pulse and rubbed her fingers up from his wrist to the crook of his elbow before once again nodding to herself as she wrote the results down. Next, she placed a hand on his forehead, holding it there for a moment before writing her findings down. Quinn repeated the steps on Tiana and when she was done she looked over her papers before smiling at them. "I'm happy to announce that your fever has gone down significantly and that the… clammy skin is gone," she said pleasantly, "Unfortunately, both of your pulses are a little high, so you'll need to stay for a couple more days, just as a precaution in case it's caused by something other than lingering effects of the disease."

Smiling kindly at Quinn, Tiana quirked her eyebrow at her son. "Why don't you come to check us again when Nathan has left," she asked playfully, "He has been driving us mad."

Laughing, the red-haired girl turned to Nathan. "I'm sorry, but to give your parents a proper diagnosis, I need them in neutral conditions." Riley winked at her as he grabbed Nathan and showed him out. When he returned, Quinn smiled at the royal couple. "I'll be back when I'm done with the others," she promised, "If your heart rates have lowered enough, you'll be good to go in the morning." They nodded gratefully at her and Quinn felt strangely proud as she moved on, happy to have been of use.

* * *

Riley watched, entranced, as Quinn worked, repeating the steps she had gone through with Naveen and Tiana. Some of the nurses lingered with him, observing what the healer from the Isle was doing. It was fascinating to watch the professionalism she exuded, clearly well-versed in her craft. When they reached Beast's bed, Riley was surprised to see King Ben there with his parents. Mal, Auradon's beloved queen-to-be, stood behind him, a hand on his shoulder.

"Your Majesty," Quinn greeted respectfully, smiling at Beast, "Hold your arm out please." Repeating the same steps she had been doing for the better part of two hours, she wrote down her findings and compared them to earlier records of his health. She frowned. "Forgive me," she said gently, "Your records show that your blood pressure has been unusually high for some time, and according to these files you were prescribed medicine for this, yet there have been no apparent changes." Tilting her head, Quinn eyed him critically, Ben and Belle doing the same. "Sir, have you not been taking your medicine?"

Beast flushed. "I… may have forgotten."

"Forgotten?" Belle glared at her husband. "This nice girl here seems to imply you have _never_ taken your medicine," she remarked sharply, "And since I didn't even know you were supposed to be taking any, I'm inclined to agree with her."

"I've always had high blood pressure," Beast insisted, turning to Quinn, "It comes with the temper, you know?"

Sighing, Quinn made a note on his clipboard before handing it to Riley. "Wait here."

The group looked after her as she moved over to a small kitchenette in the corner of the room, pulling something out of the pouch resting on her hip. She came back a few minutes later, holding out a jar to Belle. "This is a special tea blend with cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger," she said giving Beast a stern look, "Please see to it that he drinks one cup in the morning and one before he goes to bed." Belle nodded, she too narrowing her eyes at Beast. Quinn shook her head as they squabbled quietly, sharing a small smile with Ben. "Considering that his blood pressure is a previous issue, I'll allow that he leaves tonight," she told him, "_If_ he drinks his tea." The king nodded, rolling his eyes at his father's half-hearted protests, and Quinn moved on to the next patient.

* * *

"You know," she said as she walked out of the ward with Riley, "You Auradonians aren't all good." The blond gave her a curious look, lips twitching as he fought a smile. "Still too sugary sweet," she elaborated, "But there seems to be some spice in you too if Belle's treatment of Beast is anything to go by."

Riley laughed, steering her in the direction of the stairs. "Glad to know you're coming around to us," he quipped, "Now, how about a tour of Auradon Prep?"

"Actually, I'm exhausted—" Quinn smiled when he deflated slightly— "But maybe you could walk me to Evie's?" She was surprised by how much she enjoyed Riley's company. He asked her questions about her shop and life on the Isle responding in kind when she asked about his life. But no matter how pleasant he and their conversation was, there was still a part of her that doubted him. The same part that reminded constantly filled her mind with the empty words that Jay had uttered. She couldn't help but wonder if Riley's words were empty too. He was nothing like Jay, there was no denying that. Jay… he was suave and seductive in his charm. Riley was playful and teasing in his. The blond smiled and offered her his arm. After a moment of hesitation, Quinn accepted it.

* * *

"What do you mean you left her at the hospital?" Jay was fuming. He'd been aware of the fact that Quinn was visiting Auradon, of course. Evie wouldn't keep that from him, especially not since they were both aware of how perfectly persistent he would be in hounding her until she told him what he wanted to know. He _hadn't_ been aware that Evie had planned to just leave Quinn, unattended, at the hospital. "You can't just leave her there alone!"

Rolling her eyes, Evie sipped her hot chocolate. "She's not alone," she replied, "Riley Radcliffe was kind enough to show her around." She lifted her mug to her lips again to hide the smile that broke free when Jay froze almost imperceptibly in his seat. Feigning ignorance, she frowned at her friend. "Where have I heard that name before?" Jay growled something under his breath and Evie leaned closer to him. "What was that?"

"He's the strongest guy on the Tourney team."

"Right," the blue-haired princess said, snapping her fingers, "He's that non-prince half the school goes mad for when he's on the field." Behind Jay, Harry shook his head in exasperation. The pirate, for all his bottled up resentment concerning how things ended between Jay and Quinn, wasn't at all agreeable with her scheme. Evie suspected it had something to do with the fact that he'd rather see Quinn die single. He jerked suddenly, dropping his own mug of hot chocolate. Both Evie and Jay frowned and moved over to the window to see what he had seen before he could stop them.

Jealousy coiled in Jay's stomach like Maleficent's thorns had around the castle in which Aurora had slept. Quinn was heading to the house, laughing with Riley Radcliffe. He watched as the blond jerk _kissed_ Quinn, seriously considering giving in to the dark urge to steal her away to a place where only he could reach her. So what if it was a barely-there kiss on the knuckles? Quinn was _his_. The thought brought Jay to a staggering halt. Quinn _was_ his. Not anymore. Before he could back away from the door, which he hadn't even realized that he'd gone to, it opened.

* * *

Quinn came to an abrupt stop as she suddenly found herself face to face with Jay. They hadn't been as close since the last time he kissed her. Unbidden, the memories of his lips and hands on her were brought to the forefront of her mind. She didn't even realize she was leaning closer to him until she heard his whisper of her name. With a start, she took a step back, her heel catching on the threshold. She was falling, for the second time that day, only she felt no pain of the landing this time around. A strong arm was wrapped tightly around her waist, keeping her steady. Her body reacted strongly to the familiar feeling, her hands moving of their own accord to settle on Jay's upper arms as her breath escaped her. Not because he was holding too tightly, not as a result of almost falling. No, she felt as though she couldn't breathe because of the feeling of safety that engulfed her. Quinn felt tears sting in her eyes as she was confronted with the dilemma she had been actively avoiding since the barrier came down. She didn't want to forgive him. She didn't want to alienate him. She knew, in her reluctantly accepting heart, that she hadn't felt safe on Riley's arm. Sure, she hadn't been _un_safe, but it didn't compare to what it felt like to be wrapped in Jay's embrace. She cursed how she had fallen, literally, for both boys. But only one had caught her.

The already confirmed couple watched their friends with a bated breath. Harry almost wanted to look away when Quinn stepped back from Jay, unwilling to witness the epic fight that was bound to break out. He'd seen the acceptance on his best friend's face when she realized that she couldn't avoid the confrontation anymore. The pirate pitied them both for their inability to fall out of love with one another.

"Riley is everything I could ever want."

Jay was crestfallen, her words like claws tearing him to pieces.

"So why the hell can't I get you out of my mind?" Tears streamed freely down her face and Quinn made no attempt to stop them. She was vaguely aware that Evie was crying too but her focus remained solely on the former thief who walked around with her heart in his hand.


	15. Chapter 15

There were so many things he wanted to say, so much he wanted to tell her. But he couldn't. He stood, numb, watching as tears tainted her beautiful face. It was as though he'd been turned to stone again.

Quinn didn't seem to notice. "Riley has been a perfect gentleman all day," she told him through her sobs, "He has been polite and charming and I don't think I've ever been treated with more respect, not even from Harry." She swallowed thickly, seeing Jay do the same. In all honesty, she couldn't remember when she last felt so much at the same time. She was angry, heartbroken and so ridiculously in love with him that she briefly wondered if her heart could take it all. "_You _hurt me," she exclaimed, more tears falling as she pointed an accusatory finger at him, "_You _left, _you_ broke the promises you made." Gesturing in the general direction Riley had disappeared in, Quinn tried to make him understand. "_He_ is a brand new start, someone I can trust because _he_ hasn't hurt me yet."

Once again, Jay found himself on his knees for her. He wasn't entirely sure why he always fell to his knees in confrontations with her. Maybe, he acknowledged, his body was showing him what he needed to show her. That he would always be at her mercy, always at her beck and call, hers to do with as she pleased. The world as he knew it had crumbled when he met her. She watched him silently and he knew that she knew. He loved her.

"You stole my heart like the thief you are," she choked, "You didn't give it back." And that was the gospel truth. That was the one thing he hadn't shattered between them. Her heart. He had carried it with him, always, and kept it safe in his love for her. Quinn walked up to him, looking down into his eyes. They were as filled with tears as hers and she knew he expected her to hit him. She saw the saw both Harry and a still crying Evie flinched when she threw her hands up in exasperation, more sobs escaping her. "And now I don't know what to do," she continued, "Because I have the most perfect fresh start waiting for me but you still have my heart."

For the first time since her arrival, Jay spoke. His voice was rough and thick, but the honesty in it couldn't be denied, not even by her. "I'm not giving it back," he rasped, reaching out to take her hand, "Not unless you give me mine, and I really don't want you to do that." The fact that she let him touch her surged like electricity through his veins but he couldn't stand just yet. He needed to remain where he was, stripped bare and vulnerable, to truly make her understand. "I love you, Quinn," he confessed his own tears falling as a fresh wave tumbled down her cheeks, "And I don't ever want to stop and you can't make me." Behind him, Evie was sobbing into Harry's shoulder. In front of him, the love of his life held his future in her hands.

"I don't want you to give mine back either," Quinn finally whispered, barely able to see through her tears, "I don't think I could ever hate you unless you decided to give it back." In the end, she didn't have to see. She felt it as he stood, swept her into his arms and kissed her as though the future of the kingdom depended on it. She felt him smile between kisses, felt it in the tightness of his embrace. He loved her. _She loved him_. He was the thief that walked around with her heart in his hands. She was the princess that walked around with his in hers. It had been a tough negotiation. But the outcome was so far beyond anything she'd ever dared to hope for.

* * *

Evie's sobbing had them breaking apart and Harry was equally relieved and perplexed. "Love, why in the hells are ye cryin'?" He knew why Jay and Quinn were crying. Their crying made sense. Evie's most definitely did not. It had been an emotional end to a conflict that had lasted years, he understood that. He didn't understand why Evie had been so moved by it. "Ye're mental, did ye know that?" He winced when she hit his chest hard and glared up at him through her tears.

"I'm just so happy for them."

"Ye can't seriously 'ave been cryin' happy tears through the whole thing."

"Of course I can, I knew it would end like this!"

Jay wiped Quinn's tears away as their friends continued to bicker. Gently cradling her face, he pressed another kiss against her lips. When he pulled away, Quinn smiled up at him and the words escaped him before he could stop them. "I love you."

"I love you too." The road to that realization had been long and littered with hindrances. But nothing had ever been more worth it.

* * *

Needless to say, Jay ended up staying at Evie's with Quinn and Harry. With many, many protests from the latter. Quinn had done her best to assure him that she was drained and had to sleep since she had work to do in the morning but when she woke up and exited Evie's guest room, the pirate was asleep outside. She stepped over him, walking downstairs into the kitchen to find Evie whistling as she worked on breakfast. "Has he been out there all night," Quinn asked as she hoisted herself up on the kitchen island and grabbed a chocolate chip pancake, "Also, is this edible?"

"Yes to both of those," Evie answered, carefully measuring how many blueberries to add to the second batch, "I tried everything, he wouldn't budge." She turned to face Quinn, using a wooden spoon to fold the berries into the batter. Her eyebrows shot up as she took in her friend's appearance. She grinned suggestively. "Judging by that outfit, I'm surprised Jay's still alive."

Quinn looked down at what she was wearing. While she could understand what Evie was getting at, she rolled her eyes. "He knows I usually sleep in a nightgown, so he offered his t-shirt," she explained, adjusting the sleeve that had fallen off her shoulder, "It was all perfectly innocent."

"You want help covering that hickey?"

"Please."

The girls chatted quietly, waiting for their significant others to wake up. It was no real surprise when Jay emerged from upstairs first. He kissed both of them on the cheek and accepted the plate Evie held out to him. Taking his place between Quinn's legs, his bare back against her chest, he dug into his breakfast. "What's the plan for today," he asked between bites of blueberry pancake, "I've got Tourney and some classes." Both girls replied with work, smirking at the dismayed look on Jay's face.

"Actually, that reminds me," Evie said, sweeping past Harry as he stumbled down the stairs, "I've been working on something for you." She headed to her design room, picking up the outfit that had been created when she'd left Quinn at the hospital. Smiling nervously, she held it up for Quinn to see. It was fairly simple, a practical choice for Quinn's line of work. The pencil skirt had a checkered pattern, each square holding a different suit. The black squares had gold spades or clubs, while the white ones had red hearts or diamonds. A simple, loose, black blouse with gold lace around the neckline and the end of the sleeves finished the outfit. Evie held up a pair of red pumps in her other hand. "What do you think?"

Quinn grinned at her friend. "You've really come into your own, haven't you?" She accepted the outfit, looking it over before she hugged Evie tightly. "Help me get ready?" And with that, Harry and Jay were left alone in the kitchen as the girls went upstairs. Evie carefully covered the hickeys that were visible and fixed Quinn's hair while the blood-haired girl found a lipstick that suited her. They shifted after a while, Quinn weaving an elaborate braid into Evie's blue locks while the designer did her own makeup. Once done, they appraised each other. Ensuring that they were equally immaculate, they went back downstairs.

Their lovers' reactions had both of them doubling over in laughter. Harry dropped his fork, the pointy end landing on Jay's foot, which caused him to accidentally hit the pirate in the head with his plate. "Glad to see our efforts don't go unnoticed," Evie quipped, kissing Harry's cheek, "But you all need to get going." Quinn and Harry were expected at the hospital and Jay had practice to get to. Evie herself had several fittings booked for the day. She watched her closest friends leave, feeling as though all the pieces had fallen into place.

* * *

At the hospital, Quinn warmly greeted Naveen and Tiana again. "Well, Your Highnesses," she said, putting her pen down, "You are, as of right now, free to go." She shook their hands as they left and turned to Harry, "Since you already know the routine, could you go check on Beast," she asked, moving over to check on Pinocchio, "I doubt he actually drank the tea I prescribed, so… just make sure Belle hasn't killed him." The pirate nodded and headed deeper into the ward while Quinn smiled at the man waiting for her.

Just as she was ensuring that he wasn't turning wooden again, Harry came running. "Quinn, something's wrong." She dropped Pinocchio's clipboard, rushing after him. Beast was trashing in his bed, clutching the mattress so tightly Harry feared that he would rip it apart. "I'll hold 'im down," he said, already securing a belt around Beast's thighs, "Ye gotta figure out what's wrong."Quinn nodded, eyes frantically scanning over the former king. The doors slammed open and Ben came running with his mother and Mal, but neither Harry nor Quinn really took notice.

"What is going on?" Ben was perplexed. Harry was on top of his father, pinning his arms down with his knees, while Quinn was searching for something. To his horror, Ben realized that his father was in serious pain, his face scrunched up in a grimace that made them all wince. Mal moved forward before Ben could stop her, grabbing Quinn's arm.

"What have you done?"

Quinn tore free from Mal without replying, backhanding her in the process. The glare exchanged between them was cold enough to freeze hell. But the blood-haired princess had better things to do than to get into fights with her half-sister. She turned away, looking at what was placed around the former king. There was a vase of snapdragons and a couple of books and a bag of sunflower seeds. It didn't make sense. None of those things could cause a reaction. Then she spotted it. A vial on the floor. She picked it up, smelling the substance it had contained as it smeared over her fingers. Eyes widening, Quinn pulled Harry away from Beast, just in time for the man to become the beast.

The belt tied around his thighs was useless against the snapping and breaking of bone as Beast transformed. Once fully formed, he stilled. Belle hesitantly approached, placing her hand on a furry arm. Beast's eyes flew open as he let out a monstrous roar. Some parts of his newly transformed mind must've recognized that Belle was someone important to him. Harry and Quinn weren't as lucky. With brutal strength, Beast grabbed both of them by the throat, throwing the pirate across the room as he lifted Quinn off her feet. There was no stopping him. No one dared to interfere, for fear of ending up like Harry.

Black spots clouded Quinn's vision. She knew that if someone didn't do anything soon, she wasn't likely to survive. The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was the sound of the doors slamming open and someone calling her name.

* * *

Evie gasped as she burst into the Morphilogus Ward with Jay. Quinn was worryingly limp in Beast's grip and a body that looked suspiciously like Harry lay on the floor on the other side of the room. Jay was already moving deeper into the ward, heading toward Beast and Quinn. After a moment's hesitation, unsure who to attend to first, Evie rushed to make sure Harry would be okay. He was groaning weakly, which meant that he was alive, at least. She glanced over to her friends in time to see Jay jab a needle into Beast's neck and inject a liquid before he caught Quinn as she slipped from the former king's grasp. Tears rose in Evie's eyes as she realized that the red-haired girl wasn't responding to anything Jay tried.

There was something that shook Mal to the core as she watched one of her best friends beg and plead for the girl who had straight up slapped her to wake up. She had tried to use spells to make Beast release the redhead, but just as it had that day at House of Cards, her magic failed her. She realized with a start that it only ever happened around her half-sister. Her half-sister, who lay lifeless in Jay's arms. The way he looked at her made Mal's chest feel tight. He had admitted that he'd dated her, but the queen-to-be could tell that there was a lot more to the story. She had been with Ben for years, at that point, yet he didn't look at her quite like Jay looked at Quinn. If only her magic worked she could help. She paused. Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out the ember. _Their magic_. Hesitantly, Mal kneeled beside Jay and took Quinn's hand. "_A loving heart is here at stake, help this sleeping princess wake._"

There was a tense silence as several seconds passed. Jay refused to cry. Crying meant accepting the unacceptable.


	16. Chapter 16

**Don't know if you know this, people, but this is the last chapter before the epilogue. Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. Happy reading!**

* * *

Quinn woke up with a gasp, shooting into a sitting position. She immediately regretted it, feeling her throat burn with the hasty movement. Looking around carefully, and painfully noting that she couldn't move her head however she wanted, she realized that she had no idea where she was. The bed she was sitting in wasn't hers. It was one of two, both black with Auradon Prep's logo on them. In the middle of the room, there was a table, with the strangest contraption she had ever seen placed on it. Getting out of bed, she approached it and poked at the glass with narrowed eyes. She jumped when the door opened and Jay stepped in. His eyes widened when he saw her and he began to step forward, only to hesitate. What had happened? Quinn opened her mouth to ask, only to find that nothing came out. Her eyes widened and her hands went to her throat. She winced at the soreness, hurriedly turning around to search for a mirror. The memories came rushing back and her eyes stung as she saw what had him so careful.

The expression on Quinn's face when she saw the dark bruises blossoming had Jay's heart breaking. She turned back to him, panic in her eyes as tears glistened. "It was bad," he whispered roughly, "Your throat was damaged and they… they don't know if you're ever going to be able to talk again." He dove forward to catch her as her knees gave out beneath her. Tears were streaming and silent sobs shook her body as he held her tightly against him, whispering words of comfort and support into her hair while they sunk to the floor. Quinn relied on her voice, used it to command her Card Soldiers and give instructions to her patients. "You're still alive," he reminded her, running a hand up and down her back, "You almost weren't, but Mal helped." Remembering the artifact hanging around his throat, Jay let go of Quinn to remove the chain. He held the sapphire ring up between them for her to see. "I was supposed to give this back," he said quietly, "I've been keeping it safe in a hidden compartment under my bed."

The blue stone immediately flared to life when Quinn slid it onto her finger. She smiled weakly at Jay, who pressed a kiss against her forehead before gently pulling her down to recline against his chest. A sudden thought hit her and she tapped Jay's thigh to get his attention. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow. Quinn frowned, trying to figure out how to communicate with him. Biting her lip in concentration, she swept a hand through the air in front of them. A sentence hovered, burning bright and blue. _What about Dad?_ She pointed to her throat, frowning at him. Jay sighed.

"Yeah, Harry and I thought of that too," he told her, "But they're afraid he'll hurt Beast for it, so we've been forbidden from asking him for help." The look she gave him was one he and the pirate had been sporting for days. "I know," he continued, "So we demanded something in return." Quinn looked so proud Jay couldn't help but laugh. Even in her darkest moments, she kept thinking about her trusted _quid pro quo_. "We can't ask Hades to heal you, so Ben can't ask Fairy Godmother to help his father," he revealed, earning a cautiously impressed look from his beloved redhead, "Mal spoke up for us." She nodded, a slight frown on her face.

Flicking her fingers, Quinn wrote another fiery message. _Where's Harry?_

* * *

Oh. Right. That. "So… since Hades couldn't tear Beast to pieces…" Never before had Jay seen Quinn as horrified as when she sat up straight and turned to face him. He rushed to take one of her hands in one of his, using the other to push a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "No, I mean, almost," he assured clumsily. Quinn gave him an indignant look and prepared to stand but he caught her and pulled her back against his chest. "There was an… altercation, right after Harry recovered," he explained, "There may have been a hook involved."

_Jay_. Quinn crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows pointedly. Her boyfriend rolled his eyes.

"Don't look at me like that," Jay defended as his name faded into smoke, "Harry's fine, Mal used a spell to stun him and Evie's got him tied down and locked up in her bathroom." The way Quinn seemed able to call him out for stalling even when she couldn't speak was equally relieving and annoying. The last thing she needed was to worry about Harry when she was hurt too. Realizing that she wouldn't quit until he gave it to her straight, Jay sighed heavily again. "Beast is going to have a pretty gnarly scar crossing his chest, fur or not," he revealed, seeing Quinn's eyes widen, "Yeah, one minute he was listening to Evie telling him what happened, the next the nurses were doing everything to stop Beast's bleeding while Carlos and Gil dragged Harry out of there." The red-haired princess opened her mouth to speak, out of habit, only to deflate as new tears rose. More flames appeared in the air.

_Are we at your dorm?_ Jay nodded. _Where's Carlos?_ He shrugged.

"Not sure, I think he said something about showing Jane and Dude the Isle," he replied, "Why?"

_Take me to bed?_

Jay choked on his own spit, coughing roughly. Quinn looked decidedly unimpressed.

_To sleep, idiot, I'm tired. _She rolled her eyes at the sheepish grin he gave her. For a guy worrying about her health, he didn't seem to remember that she needed rest. Jay stood, lifting her into his arms. Quinn was torn between reprimanding him and kissing him. As unnecessary as the gesture was, it was sweet of him. He set her down on his bed gently and went to remove his clothes, making her realize, for the first time since waking up, what she was wearing. Given the size of the shirt, she wagered it was Jay's. The dark blue suited her complexion rather well and it was soft from being worn often. Curling up under the covers, Quinn situated her hands in a way that allowed her to inhale its scent. She marveled at how, after years in Auradon, his clothes still smelled like him. Saltwater, earth, and metal. The scent enveloped her as Jay crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around her carefully, mindful of her injury. She fell asleep quickly, comforted by his presence. Before her eyes fluttered shut, she left him another message in blue fire. _I love you_.

"I love you too."

* * *

The next couple of months were difficult for their entire group of friends. Whenever Quinn tried to talk and couldn't, she withdrew from them. Ben felt incredibly guilty and Mal was torn between comforting her fiancé and getting closer to her sister. Evie spent most of her time placating Jay and Harry, who were still angry and likely wouldn't be anything other than angry until Quinn could speak again. Carlos surprised them all by becoming close with Quinn. He kept her company when Jay or Harry were out to blow off steam and Quinn, in turn, took Carlos in as her apprentice. Together they endeavored to learn sign language to help their communication and as time passed they grew to work like a well-oiled machine. Alas, it wasn't Carlos that heard Quinn's first words since the incident at the hospital, nor was it Jay or Harry.

Mal looked up in surprise when she heard a rasp escape Quinn's throat. The bruises were long gone, but until that moment she still hadn't been able to get a sound out. "Did you…_did you say something_?" Quinn nodded, biting her lip before trying again. Again, her voice was little more than a rasp with some notes in it, and Mal could see how frustrated she was getting. "You shouldn't rush it," she chided gently, "Because magic outside the ember can't seem to touch you, we have no idea the extent of the damage."

"I… wanted… to," Quinn mustered, cutting herself off as she cleared her throat, "Thank… you." Feeling that she wouldn't be able to get much else out, she waved a hand to finish what she was thinking. _Thank you for being cool about us being sisters. I've only had one other sibling before._ At Mal's confused frown Quinn held out her hand for the purple-haired girl to take. The moment their skin touched, the redhead pulled her sister into a memory.

* * *

_The cave was dark, darker than usual, and Hades was wearing his traditional robes. Harry and Quinn sat on the floor at his feet, a golden chalice that neither of them knew where he'd gotten it from. It was a huge day for the children. Harry, at nine years old, knew what his purpose in life was. At eight, Quinn was ready to accept that he was a permanent part of her life. Hades lowered his hands, holding a knife in each one. Both children took one and held it to their wrists, just off the center. With a resolute nod, they broke the skin and let the blood that sprung forth drip into the chalice. Using what little magic he had left in the ember, Hades allowed blue flames to swallow the golden container. Purple smoke spilled out and the children winced as their wounds closed painfully, leaving a key-shaped scar._

_Hades looked down at them seriously. "A bond of blood chosen is stronger than a bond of blood inherited," he told them, "Remember that and you'll never find yourselves without help again."_

* * *

Eyes widening, Mal pulled away from Quinn's touch. Blood magic was dangerous and rare. The redhead lifted her sleeve and took off the bracelet covering the tiny scar left by the ritual. Mal studied it, wondering what had led to their bonding. It made her feel strange, the thought that no matter how close she grew with Quinn, she wouldn't ever be as close to her as Harry was. Yet, witnessing the ritual, she found it… beautiful, in the sense that Harry and Quinn had watched out for each other their whole lives. "That actually explains a lot," she finally managed, smiling wryly, "No wonder Harry tried to gut Beast for hurting you."

As they say, you need only speak of the devil and he shall appear. Evie's house opened and their friends came inside, finally done with the photoshoot for Evie's new collection. Quinn shared a mischievous smirk with Mal as Jay strode past her place at the kitchen island, briefly pressing a kiss to her hairline, and grabbed a glass from the cabinet. "Hi."

"Hey," Jay replied, opening the fridge, "Have you seen the strawberry lemonade, I swear Evie said…" He froze, frowning deeply. Connecting the rasped greeting to his girlfriend, the glass slipped from his grip and smashed against the floor. Not that he really noticed. Quinn was smiling proudly at him and her word echoed in his head as he swept her into his arms and kissed her. "Hey."

"Hi." Flicking her fingers, Quinn quickly repaired the broken glass, smiling gratefully at Mal who picked it up on her way to give them some privacy. Kissing Jay again, she considered what to attempt to say next. The way he looked at her made the decision for her. "Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

Over the next few days, Quinn spoke more and more. Mostly, she was happy to finally be able to clap back when Harry made a joking comment or Evie teased her playfully. She liked being able to talk to those who came looking for her help, liked getting to know them properly. She didn't like how long she'd been in Auradon though. While recovering, neither Jay nor Harry had let her out of their sights, meaning that she hadn't been home on the Isle since the morphilogus broke out. And she wanted to go back to her shop. "Jay, can we talk?" Her voice was still a little scratchy, but she could finally form full sentences and engage people in conversation. The one she was about to have with Jay made her wish she couldn't. He sat down beside her on his bed, a cautious smile on his face.

"What's up?"

"Jay, I'm going back to the Isle," she told him, taking his hand in hers, "I miss home." She loved him and she loved falling asleep with him. She would miss him too when she went back. But Auradon was never meant to be her home. "I'm leaving tomorrow," she continued gently when he didn't reply, "Say something, please."

"I've been thinking about it too, actually." Quinn's eyebrows shot up and he smiled sadly. "I love Auradon, of course I do," he explained, "But I love you more, and the Isle is getting better." As was his father, and he wanted to be there to form a real, healthy father-son relationship. Auradon would always be the place that saved him from himself but the more he thought about it, the less he could see himself spending the rest of his life there. The barrier was down and he could visit his friends whenever he wanted but there was no use in denying it. His home was on the Isle, with the love of his life.


	17. Epilogue

**Welcome to the epilogue! After this, I'll be taking a break from posting for a while as I write my next fanfiction. In the meantime, leave me a review telling me what you think! Happy reading!**

* * *

"No."

"Absolutely not."

Ben glanced helplessly at Jay and Carlos, who turned away and pretended like they weren't listening. Traitors. While he was king, Ben was powerless when faced with Mal and Quinn. The two had a dynamic that, quite frankly, terrified him. No matter what he was discussing, he knew he would lose the moment they agreed with each other. Apparently, that applied for _his_ bachelor party too. "It'll be fun," he pressed, "We'll play Tourney, get some food, play some party games, it's going to be great!"

Rolling her eyes, Quinn looked up from the flower arrangement she was working on. Raising an eyebrow at Mal, she sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head, "I swear, I'm trying but I can't for the life of me figure out what you see in him."

"Yeah, right now I'm asking myself the same question."

"Oh, come on, what's wrong with Tourney and dinner and party games?"

"Maybe the fact that while you're having a blast, the others will be fast asleep?" Evie stepped into the room, Harry following tightly behind her. She, and everyone else in their close-knit circle of friends, were well aware of Ben's plans for his bachelor party. If one could call it that. She smiled sweetly at the king as she passed him, giving a ribbon sample to Mal. "Sure, in ten years that'll be great for a night out with the guys," she continued, "But you're twenty-two, not sixty, and planning to party with guys from the Isle."

Mal and Quinn gave him triumphant smiles and Ben knew he had lost.

* * *

While the boys were out, Ben had finally conceded control to Carlos, the girls were gathered at Evie's house. "So, explain to me why we basically forced the guys out while we're having a night in for Mal's bachelorette," Jane said, accepting a champagne glass from Quinn, "I thought we were supposed to party all night and… is this non-alcoholic?" The redheaded healer nodded, earning surprised looks from the gathered girls. "But why," Fairy Godmother's daughter asked, frowning, "What's the point of…" She trailed off, eyes widening comically as she stared at the three most likely candidates. Audrey was single, Uma hadn't gone that far with her boyfriend yet, and Jane knew she herself wasn't viable. Which left the daughters of Hades and Evie.

"Don't look at me," Quinn quipped, "I'm the medic here, I know how to prevent it." It was a bait, and the guilty party fell for it immediately.

"Hey, we knew how to prevent it too," Evie sniped, "We just forgot _one_ time." She paled when she realized what she had done. Seeing the stunned faces of her friends, bar Quinn and Mal, she went from sickly pale to deeply flushed in seconds. It really had been an honest mistake. While neither Evie nor Harry had expected it to happen so soon, they were overjoyed when Quinn came to them with test results and a whole list of things to stay away from. "I'm due in March," she said, suddenly feeling very shy, "Quinn won't tell us the gender though."

Another minute of silence passed before Evie was engulfed in loud, squealing hugs. Even Uma participated. Mal chuckled with her sister before clearing her throat. "I thought it would be unfair for the rest of us to drink the night away when Evie couldn't, so I asked Quinn to get non-alcoholic drinks for us," she explained, "We figured we could have a sleepover kind of bachelorette since none of us have ever really had one before." Audrey and Jane nodded excitedly and began listing things they always did on sleepovers when they were kids.

Meanwhile, Uma sidled up with Quinn. "Baby's due in March, huh," she asked rhetorically, "Honeymoon?"

"Harry was pretty freaked out," the blood-haired girl confirmed, "I would've tried to convince him that it wasn't probable that it happened so quickly but… well, it did." Her bond-brother had scared her half to death when he rushed into her shop in the middle of the night, ranting about how Evie was late and that they suspected that maybe she was pregnant and that Quinn needed to get her behind to Auradon to help them confirm or deny. "He's really happy though."

They shared a smile, joining the name-discussion when they were asked.

* * *

"I don't understand women," Ben lamented, dropping his head onto the bar top, "Aren't they supposed to like, not want us out with endless opportunities for debauchery?" Jay's beer went down the wrong pipe, Carlos patting his back roughly to help the coughing. "What?" Harry was halfway out of his seat, wheezing with laughter and even Gil seemed to find him amusing. "Oh come on, what did I say?"

Carlos pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to hold back a smile of his own. "Endless opportunities for debauchery," he replied, clearing his throat to stop the laughter from escaping, "We're still in Auradon, for one, so those opportunities are pretty slim." He took a sip of his own drink, shaking his head slightly. "Not to mention that all of us are pretty dedicated to our partners," he added, raising his glass in a toast with the others.

"Which is a nice way of saying that we're whipped," Jay translated, clasping Ben's shoulder, "And they know it." It went without saying for all of them. Harry and Jay had been enamored with the same women for years, and once Doug met Uma for real he was a goner. Gil found an adventurous soulmate in Aziz, a union that surprised absolutely no one considering the tally of injuries Quinn kept on the two. They were reckless and spontaneous and perfect for one another. Of course, Ben was the one getting married, which said it all. "Come on," Jay continued, sliding another glass of beer in the king's direction, "We've been permitted to be stupid, I say we take advantage." They all cheered and drank, celebrating that Ben was finally getting married.

* * *

Contrary to his own words, Jay paced himself. Not only had he made a pact with Harry to keep an eye on Ben, at the behest of their significant others, he had something else he needed to get done. Under the cover of night and the general lack of sobriety in the group, the former thief snuck away from the bar. The whole world was still, most of it asleep in the late hour, and Jay took the time to breathe in the fresh air and wake himself up a little. After traversing it so many times, the road to the Isle seemed much shorter than he remembered it being the first time they'd crossed the bridge that life-changing day four years prior.

If the night had seemed dark, it was nothing compared to the blackness that engulfed him as he reached his destination. Only the flickering, blue flames of Hades' hair lit up the cave, something that Jay suspected was intended to intimidate him. While he would never say it out loud, he was far more frightened of both daughters of Hades than of the God of the Dead himself. "Sir," he greeted, nodding respectfully, "Wonderful night, isn't it?"

"Boy-who's-sleeping-with-my-youngest-daughter," Hades greeted in return, "I don't know if I'd call it wonderful, it's the only thing standing between my daughter being my daughter and my daughter being someone's wife." He was happy for Mal. Technically. As happy as a father could be at the prospect that his daughter somehow had become a grown woman. It wasn't an issue he'd had with Quinn, he'd seen her grow up. Mal, on the other hand, had gone from baby to teenager to engaged before he ever had the chance to catch up. And before him stood a man who wished to take his youngest away from him. So what if both of them lived on the Isle? "What do you want," he asked grumpily, fully aware of the answer, "Night is my me-time and you're cutting in."

Clearing his throat, Jay let out a shaky breath. "I… wanted to ask you something," he said, trying not to sound too nervous, "About Quinn." The god raised his eyebrow disinterestedly, and Jay got a distinct feeling that he was being tested. He hoped that what he had to say would enough. "I've loved your daughter for the better part of six years," he admitted, unable to keep the smallest of smiles off his face, "And I hope you know that I respect her and that her wish will always be my command."

"Out with it."

"Do I have your permission to marry your daughter?"

Hades studied Jafar's son closely. Of course, he'd been aware of Quinn's romance with the boy from the get-go. He'd also been aware of the heartache she'd gone through because of it. Unfortunately, he knew two things to combat that. First, he knew how happy the boy had made Quinn since they got back together. Second, as reluctant he was to admit it, he had no power over his daughter. He could easily tell Jay no. But Quinn was likely to be furious with him and he didn't want that. Hades heaved an internal sigh. "I don't know," he replied, seeing Jafar's son deflate, "You'll have to ask her."

Jay's breath caught in his throat.

"Just take care of her, okay?"

The former thief nodded and shook the hand held out to him. "Always, sir."

* * *

The girls woke up the next morning and headed downstairs for breakfast only to find their men, and Gil, sprawled over various surfaces in Evie's living room. Laughing quietly amongst themselves, they got started on the food while Quinn, shaking her head in amusement, set about preparing the hangover-remedy she'd perfected since they first were allowed to start drinking.

"Good thing you wanted to get married under the stars," she whispered, bumping Mal lightly with her shoulder, "We've got all day to get things ready." After a moment of consideration, Quinn wrapped Mal into a hug. "I'm happy for you, big sister."

Mal hugged her sister back. "Thank you," she whispered, feeling her eyes grow watery, "I'll be happy for you when it's your turn." She pulled away to find Quinn with a rosy blush on her cheeks. It had been a little weird at first, seeing Jay love her sister as intensely as he did. Mostly because she hadn't been there to see the buildup but also because he'd never shown anywhere near as much affection for anyone else. Not to mention that he was dating her sister, and that was always going to be weird. "He's going to propose, you know," she stated, seeing the doubt flicker in Quinn's gaze, "I think he's taking so long because he doesn't know if you're going to say yes."

"Of course I will," the blood-haired healer, "I just… still can't believe it's happening to me." At the frowns she received from her friends, she sighed and ducked her head in embarrassment. "We spent so long apart and I guess I kind of stopped… believing it would ever be something I got to experience." When she was given no reply, she looked up to find that Mal's green gaze had been exchanged with a brown one. Jay smiled down at her softly, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"If I thought Evie would let me get away with it I'd ask you to marry me now," he said running a knuckle along Quinn's cheekbone lovingly, "But I'm fairly certain that she'd get all snippy because it's Mal's big day and we can't take the attention away and all that." His girlfriend nodded, chuckling. Gently angling her face, Jay pressed a kiss to her lips, barely holding back a groan when the girls around them squealed. "Do you have—" he accepted the coffee cup that she gave him with a sigh of relief— "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

The tender moment was interrupted by the arrival of the other guys, who glared at the people in the kitchen. "Less noise, please," Carlos grumbled, almost missing Jane's cheek as he tried to kiss it, "It's still early." At least, he was fairly certain that it was still early. His vision was a little blurry and the clock on the wall wouldn't stop spinning.

"How much did you guys drink yesterday?" Aubrey had never been more relieved to be single than she was at that moment. The guys clung to their partners like babies and Gil had missed the bowl when he poured cereal. She was glad that she didn't have to deal with them. "You look like someone's run you over or something," she commented bluntly, earning noises of agreement from her friends, "What did you do?"

Jay, who had left the bar mostly sober while dragging the others with him, chortled. "Ben danced on a table," he revealed wrapping his arms around Quinn, "And Carlos made out with Dude." Harry started to laugh, only to freeze when Jay turned his mischievous gaze to him. The sheer horror on his face told the Tourney player that he'd taken Quinn's remedy and remembered most of the night. "Harry proposed to a bush, thinking it was Evie." Laughter followed his statement and Harry growled as he focused intently on murdering his toast. "Gil and Doug just kinda… fell asleep a lot."

"How would you know," Carlos grumbled, flushing deep red, "You disappeared halfway into the night and didn't come back until like, right before we left."

Eyebrows shooting to her forehead, Quinn turned her teasingly curious eyes to Jay. "Did he now," she asked, "Where could you possibly had gone?" It was Jay's turn to flush and duck his head sheepishly. He mumbled something incoherently, trying not to meet her gaze. "Look at me," Quinn said kindly, gripping his chin to turn his face to hers, "Surely it's not that bad?"

"I went to see your father." A stunned silence followed. "That's why I was taking so long," he explained, "I couldn't get away to talk to him without raising suspicion and I wanted it to be a surprise when I finally asked."

"Then ask her."

"Mal!"

"Evie, it's my day and therefore we're doing what I want," the purple-haired bride chided, smiling at her sister and future brother-in-law, "And right now I want Jay to propose to Quinn so we can all be put out of our misery." She raised her eyebrow expectantly at the couple. "Honestly, we've been waiting forever for this, so…"

Jay suddenly felt unreasonably nervous. He knew Quinn would say yes, he'd heard her say as much earlier. Yet there was something nerve-wracking about knowing that everyone else knew. Almost as though he didn't want to let them down either. Which was ridiculous. Jay took Quinn's hands in his, looking her deep in the eye. "I've loved you for a long time," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers tenderly, "It would make me the happiest man alive if you allowed me to marry you."

"That's not—"

"Shut it, Evie!"

"Yes," Quinn whispered, biting her lip to keep from crying, "You know I will." Jay swept her into his arms, spinning her around in a circle before kissing her deeply to the chorus of cheers and congratulatory words from their closest friends.

Hmm. Maybe that was it. Maybe their story didn't really begin until the moment she said yes. Maybe all the moments up until that one was the story of them all, as a group of friends who overcame prejudice and hatred that had festered for years. Whenever their story began, one thing would always be certain. Theirs was a love for the storybooks. She was a princess, isolated and cynical. He was a thief, who by pure coincidence ended up walking around with her heart in his hand.


End file.
